Bear Grylls has an amazing story to tell.

Eight years ago, when he was a 23-year-old soldier in the British Army, he came perilously close to breaking his spine in a parachute accident.

In ”The Kid Who Climbed Everest,” Grylls writes of his lengthy rehabilitation and his eventual conquest of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak.

His rehabilitation was a grueling project in itself. He had to retrain his muscles to sit, stand, walk and breathe. Grylls reached the summit of Mount Everest 18 months after the accident.

In the book, Grylls recounts his effort to fund the ambitious climbing expedition, the 70 days he spent on the mountain’s southeastern face and his near-fatal fall into a crevasse at 19,000 feet.

Grylls was raised on a small island off the southern coast of England, where his late father taught him to climb and sail.

He’s now an international motivational speaker and host of a British television series on what it’s really like to join the French Foreign Legion.

Last year, Grylls led a team across the North Atlantic Ocean in a small inflatable boat.

Grylls lives with his wife, Shara, and their young son aboard a barge in London and also on a remote Welsh island.

Published by The Lyons Press, ”The Kid Who Climbed Everest” is a 312-page softcover. It retails for $16.95.

Contact: 1-800-243-0495 or www.globalpequot.com.