What makes a good survival story

Thanks to the efforts of Thai Navy Seals and the international dive community, all survived and were able to quickly return to a normal, healthy, life after the rescue.

Tragically, one former Thai Navy Seal died in the rescue effort. Hernandez swerved to miss it, and in doing so, shot her SUV off the road and off a cliff, tumbling down about feet to a desolate, rocky beach. When she came to, water lapped over her knees. She broke her window with a multitool, crawled out the window, swam to the beach, and passed out. When she came to, she had no shoes and was understandably banged up but began walking the shore for help.

She used a hose from her car to collect dripping water from moss along the shore. She walked for days. They gave her water and called for help. Eventually rescuers used ropes to descend the cliff and evacuate Hernandez to a hospital, ending her 7-day ordeal. After successfully sailing across the Atlantic solo in his 6.

As the boat began to sink, Callahan repeatedly dove back into the sinking ship to grab survival gear. With food and water for a few days, Callahan clambered into his 6-foot circular raft, adrift, miles West of the Canaries and heading farther from them at every moment. Callahan fished with a spear gun and made water with a solar still. At day 14 he signaled to a passing ship, it kept on passing.

After a month, he drifted out of shipping lanes. By day 50 he was covered in sores from the salt water, struggling with dehydration in the tropical waters, and struggling to patch a hole in his raft. Exhausted, and after losing a third of his body weight, Callahan was finally spotted by some fisherman off the coast of Guadeloupe as birds and fish circled his raft, foraging the fish guts he tossed back into the sea.

For 38 days, the Robertson family was lost at sea. Patriarch Dougal Robertson, a British dairy farmer, just wanted to take his family on a boat trip for the " university of life ," as his son called it. On January 27, , Dougal, his wife, and their four children set out on a wooden schooner called the Lucette, heading to parts unknown. Douglas, the eldest son, told the BBC his father had made few preparations for the trip, though he had been in the British merchant navy.

For 17 months at sea, the family faired well, sailing from port-to-port and seeing the world. But on June 15, , the family encountered a group of killer whales off the coast of the Galapagos Islands. The whales attacked the boat, splintering it and severely damaging it.

The ship was taking in water. All they had was a lifeboat and a small dinghy, and just six days worth of food. They survived on rainwater and hunted turtles, adrift at sea, hoping to ride Pacific currents to the middle of the ocean, which would then push them toward the Americas. After 16 days, the raft was no longer usable, so the family their one inexperienced crew member fled to a dinghy.

It was a 10 foot boat far over capacity, but they managed to cling on until they were discovered by Japanese fishermen on July 23, On May 28, , divers in the wreckage of the Jacson-4 were attempting a triage of the vessel, which feet down off the coast of Nigeria after capsizing.

What they didn't expect to find was a survivor. And yet, what widespread changes have occurred beyond trendy campaigns around Meatless Mondays and plastic straws?

While climate strikes and Extinction Rebellion demonstrations cry out in streets, what masses are mobilizing in offices of power? In London, young people take to the streets for climate strikes, March Roy, Flickr. Any action on climate change is better than none. The power of narrative to affect human action has long been known. Gods are worshipped, wars are fought, leaders are elected and fortunes are spent because of what they represent.

Aristotle penned an entire work, Poetics , on the power and components of a story. But if narratives around climate change are going to be effective, it is just as important that their creation be founded in fact as for the climate science they convey — which is to say, Aristotle got it wrong.

Last September, researchers from McMaster University ran fMRI scans on the brains of subjects while feeding them short news headlines and asking the subjects to construct stories around the bytes. The plot came secondary — a result of the motivations, emotions and intentions of the people involved.

A figure of brain scans of participants involved in the McMaster study on cognitive storytelling processes. Courtesy of McMaster University. Quite the contrary. I learned a lot of new information and useful things for myself. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Comment below for a chance to win a copy of Freefall by Jessica Barry!

About Author. Jessica Barry Jessica Barry is a pseudonym for an American author who grew up in a small town in Massachusetts and was raised on a steady diet of library books and PBS. Comments Andrewmover January 10, at am. Location mover Local movers sacramento ca Agarwal packers and movers bangalore electronic city Reply.

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Survival stories are my favorite! Jackie Wisherd January 15, at pm. I would enjoy reading this book very much. I love reading stories about my home state. Jason Carlson January 15, at pm. I would love reading this, thanks for the chance!

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As a Floridian I find the concept amusing. Matthew Rodman January 15, at pm. Tucker has a BA and holds Ohio teaching credentials. Characteristics of Adventure Fiction. How to Write an Epic Novel. Definition of Conflict in Literature. Characteristics of the Gothic Genre. How to Write a Survival Story.

Kristine Tucker.