Amazing Stories of Survival - Men

"Touching the Void" by Joe Simpson

Joe and Simon are experienced mountain climbers on expedition in Peru. They randomly picked up Richard, a sweet but aimless world traveler, who comes along to keep their base camp in order (aka make sure nothing gets stolen).

Joe and Simon take a couple of shorter trips up easier sides of the mountain.They are feeling pretty confident so they start making their way up. Things are promising and they reach the summit but on their way down things start to turn. Through a series of not great decisions (hiking too long into the night, not packing enough food or gas) and just bum luck (storms that leave powdery unstable snow) there are a couple close calls.Then the accident happens. Joe's ice axe loses it's grip and he falls down a crevasse. The men are tethered together and so Simon tries to dig his axe in deeper to give himself more hold and to hopefully give Joe time to somehow regain his footing.However there is no response from Joe and Simon starts to lose grip.He is faced with the agonizing decision. He cuts the rope that binds them together so he is not also dragged into the crevasse. Once Simon manages to get to the crevasse he can not see Joe and assumes that he has fallen to his death. He slowly starts to make his way the rest of the way down the mountain wracked with guilt, trying to think of what he will tell Richard and Joe's parents.

In nothing short of a miracle, Joe lands on an ice bridge and not all the way down to the bottom of a seemingly bottomless pit. He is okay shape, except for a completely broken leg. Once Joe regains consciousness and realizes his choice is either to slowly die on this ice bridge, or die trying to get out he starts to climb. A climb that under ideal circumstances would have taken him 15 minutes ends up taking hours. Joe's struggle down the mountain and his psychological process takes up a good rest of the book.The descriptions of the sounds that his knee was making as he crawled to safety made me not be able to read this while I was eating. (Turns out I'm a little squeamish about these things).

If you read this book, go immediately to the back of the book and read the glossary. Kind of think this info should be in the front because they jump right into all the mountain climbing lingo and I was pretty clueless. 2.5 stars out of 5.Also don't ever go mountain climbing, you'll die.I don't understand why anyone does this for fun!

"Island of the Lost:Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World" by Joan Druett

Being in a shipwreck has to be an incredibly scary experience and this book gives you two of them. This book tells the story of a wild, uninhabited island near New Zealand and the very different experiences of two different groups of marooned men who were stranded at about the same time. One group is like the poster child for being stranded on a deserted island, where the other one is the perfect example of what not to do.

Let's talk about the islands first, just to set the mood; Auckalnd islands. It's a small chain of islands but most of the action takes place on one. It's a longish skinnyish island. The forest is incredibly dense and there is a narrow beach surrounded by lots of very sharp rocks (both ships wrecked due to a combination of rocks, bad equipment and bad weather). The English had tried to settle it as a farming community but the soil was worthless so they abandoned it after three years. Various explorers had stopped through to release pigs (for some reason) and to try to hunt it's occasional seal population but no one stayed for long.

The first group that landed was the crew and captain of the vessel Grafton. Everyone survives the wreck, which is miraculous in itself. They had a few supplies that washed up on shore, including a gun and some gunpowder (which makes a big difference in their survival). They immediately start thinking about survival essentials: fire, shelter, food, water. Luckily the Grafton doesn't completely sink so they manage to glean supplies from it's wreckage. Their main source of food is killing seals that appear on the island seasonally. (I understand that they had to do it, since they were starving but it still hurt my heart a little.) They have some lean moments, but after being stranded for almost 2 YEARS; 2 of them men set off in a small boat (which is really more like a floating basket) to find help. They are successful and everyone makes it out alive.

The second group that lands is from the Invercauld. Not everyone survives the inital wreck. The men who do survive, spend the first week just sitting on the beach waiting for rescue. Rescue doesn't come. This is a larger group of men, 19. And one large difference between these men and the other crew is that they have no bond or camaraderie. This is really the beginning of their undoing. The ship's captain pretty much has a mental break and is of little use. Many people die of injuries, starvation and exposure.I'm sort of surprised there isn't any outright murder. Also there's cannibalism. Eventually a Chinese ship wanders by and they manage to flag it down for a rescue. Out of the original surviving crew only 3 survive. I don't like those odds.

I thought this book was great, it was like reading a thriller.It was an average sized read (about 250 pages) but because it was so exciting it went really fast.(Also, as a bonus detailed descriptions of seal mating and birthing!) It was really interesting to see how good leadership and a spirit of teamwork basically saved the one crew and the lack of leadership and team work damned the other. 3 out of 5 stars!

Adorable food.

Amazing Stories of Survival - Women

These stories are emotionally taxing. The stories of these women and the situations that they have all survived is astounding. We get all wrapped up in our everyday lives and forget that these things happen every day.

There will be a post for amazing stories of men as well. I am not trying to say anything by splitting by them by gender (they are all equally worthy of being read). I just happened to look on my Goodreads shelf and saw that these stories would make a good post together.

Attention must be paid.


"The Bite of Mango" by Mariatu Kamara and Susan McClelland.

Mariatu is a 12(ish) year old girl living in rural Sierra Leone. She has a pretty happy childhood surrounded by extended family in her small village. However there are rumors going around that there is a band of rebels making their way through the countryside. No one in the area has actually seen them so no one is sure what to believe. One day shortly after these rumors have started she, and a group of other village members, are sent to a nearby town for food. They immediately are accosted by the rebels who have taken over this village. Many of these rebels are no older then Mariatu herself.

Hours pass. Men, women and children are all shot, burned alive or tortured. Mariatu continually prays for a stray bullet to pierce her heart and kill her quickly so she isn't tortured. Finally, Mariatu is told she is free to leave...but first both of her hands will be chopped off. This is a favorite punishment of the rebels because this way "they won't vote for the president". As blood spurts from the place her hands used to be Mariatu thinks to herself "what is a president?" before she falls into unconsciousness.

Mariatu's troubles are far from over, even when she realizes she has survived this terrible assault. She will endure a pregnancy that resulted from a rape (a man from her village, not one of the rebels), a long stay in a refugee camp,and having to beg for survival. She ends up coming to Toronto Canada where she finds a supportive community of Sierra Leoenian (?) expats who try to help her adjust to her new life.

It's a short read at less than 250 pages and it is will worth the time for a new perspective. Sometimes she came off as a little ungrateful and argumentative but when you take into consideration that she had so much trauma before she was even a teenager I think it's understandable.

"Slave, My True Story" by Mende Nazer

Mende had a pretty idyllic childhood in rural Sudan. She was much loved by her parents, especially since she was the baby of the family. She tells stories about their village and the strong sense of community they had.

One thing that she describes in horrifying detail is her female circumcision (also is refered to as genital mutilation). This was (and still is in some places) a very common practice that is supposed to deter girls from sexual activity. The circumcision  itself is incredibly painful and the risk of dying from infection and from childbirth is incredibly high.

One night when Mende is about 9 years old Arab raiders come to their village in the middle of the night and kidnap many of the villages children. Almost all of the girls who are captured (none older than Mende) are sexually assaulted or raped. This already horrible and painful experience is made worse by their mutilations.

Mende is sold to a wealthy Arab family in the large city of Khartoum. She is a slave for this family for 6 years enduring constant abuse. She takes care of the family's children, cleans the house and does all of the other domestic duties working constantly and sleeping in a shed outside. Once she is beaten so badly she has to stay in the hospital for 3 days (the only time she received medical attention).

Eventually she is sold to her mistresses sister who lives in London. Life seems to be better for awhile. She actually gets to sleep in a room in the house that has an actual bed. However it doesn't take long for her current owners to become abusive, though not as bad as before.

She coincidentally runs into a Sudanese man on the street who helps her formulate a plan to escape...

It's not a long read (about 250 pages) but packs a powerful emotional punch. You can really feel her fear and despair. The part that scared me the most was her story about mutilation. It's horrifying that this still so prevalent and so fatal to so many prepubescent girls.

I'd love to tell you that these stories were both from the 50s and since then we've begun to treat our fellow (wo)man wit some respect and dignity that is due everyone. But I can't.These stories each happened within the last 13-ish years. Both of these women who are highlighted have gotten an amazing second chance, there are so many that were not that lucky.


I honestly don't think I'd read either of these books again, just because they are hard stories to stomach. Because of that my rating system doesn't really work, but I will say that these books are both worth your time.