Local Writer Wins Georgia Author of the Year

Atlanta physician and author Dr. Mimi Zieman was honored with the Georgia Author of the Year Award for Memoir on Feb. 26 at the Decatur Library for her book, “Tap Dancing on Everest.” She was also recognized with fellow winners at the Dahlonega Literary Festival on March 7.

Presented by the Georgia Writers Association, the award honors outstanding books by Georgia authors.

“Tap Dancing on Everest” recounts Zieman’s experience as a 25-year-old medical student who joined a historic expedition to Mount Everest in Tibet as the team’s doctor, and its only woman. During the 1988 expedition, the climbers held what is believed to be the first recorded Passover seder on Mount Everest, a moment that reflects the book’s themes of faith, resilience, and identity. The memoir, threaded with Jewish history and tradition, also reflects on Zieman’s upbringing as the daughter of Holocaust survivors who immigrated to New York after World War II and how that legacy shaped her determination and sense of purpose.

“The search for identity is a universal experience,” Zieman said. “Coming of age on Everest was a dramatic backdrop for discovering what I’m capable of and how I want to use my voice.”

The book has received multiple honors in addition to the Georgia award, including Best Memoir from the American Writing Awards, The BookFest Awards, and the Pencraft Awards for Literary Excellence, as well as Best Non-Fiction Adventure Book in the Readers’ Choice Awards.

Zieman, an OB/GYN and women’s health advocate in Atlanta, previously served as director of family planning at Emory University School of Medicine and chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood Southeast. She also serves on the boards of the Jewish Women’s Archive and the National Council of Jewish Women Atlanta.