Deep Survival

I just finished reading the book Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales. The book relates many extreme examples of survival that people were able to live to tell about. It also shares some examples where people did not survive. The point of his book is to try to understand what makes some people survive while others just give up and die.

In the last chapter it talks about 12 possible things that sets survivors apart from the rest. These 12 things include the ability to:

1. Perceive and believe your circumstance
2. Stay calm
3. Think, analyze and plan
4. Take correct, decisive action
5. Celebrate your successes
6. Count your blessings
7. Play
8. See the beauty
9. Believe you will succeed
10. Surrender
11. Do whatever is necessary
12. Never give up

One other component not covered in this list is that there is a degree in circumstance. Sometimes you happen to be in the right place at the right time. Conversely others may be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Overall the book is about how people react when they are put in trying circumstances.

Since reading this book, I have been thinking about the times in my life where I have been a survivor. I was hit by a car as a kid and ended up going home with no injuries. On the day I was hit, I decided to take all of my school books home with me in my backpack - this was odd because I rarely did homework at home, I always managed to do it during school hours. I vividly remember seeing the truck as it was about to hit me. I turned to try to go back to the sidewalk. When I turned I inadvertently put my backpack full of books between me and the truck. This most likely saved me from serious injury. If I had seen the truck and froze in my tracks, there might have been a different outcome to my story.

Other times I remember are being in a cave (Alexander) and getting to a point where our group thought we were lost. My brother panicked. His panicking actually helped me to remain calm because I knew I had to be the source of calm. Obviously we got out of the cave, but there was a period of time when our group had its doubts about the outcome of our day.

Once Daniel and I headed up to Mt. Rogers in April. Looking back, we really didn't have the necessary gear for possible bad weather. We spent a night in a shelter on the trail. The next morning we woke up to cold temps, strong wind, wet conditions and fog so heavy you could barely see the trail. If it had been a few degrees colder, we could have been in more serious trouble. We hiked out.

When Daniel cut his leg open with a chain saw, I initially panicked, but after a while, I was able to pull myself together enough to be able to get the necessary things from our house and drive us to the ER. Daniel was calm through the whole event which helped me greatly. Inside I was freaking out, but outside I was able to function.

I hope that if I am ever in more dire circumstances, like those presented in the book, I will be a survivor.