This was an excellent memoir about a very tough and fascinating subject written by one of the survivors of the 1972 plane crash into the Andes. Most of the passengers were from the Uruguayan rugby team who were headed to Chile for a match. They were stranded in the mountains for 72 days.

So hard to wrap my head around how anyone survived much less maintained their sanity. This was a tale of perseverance and hard decisions. I first heard about this crash a few years ago when I went to a museum exhibit about cannibalism. He addresses the topic matter of factly and seriously but doesn't sensationalize it.

He also writes about the struggles to adapt back into society, the magnificence of nature, and the bonds forged on that mountain. It was really quite beautiful.

Apparently there was a movie in the early 1990's called Alive that was based on one of the other survivor's memoir. Kind of interested in seeing it but it may be a bit intense. ( )

I read a book about this 1972 plane crash when I was in high school, so it was interesting to read this book by a survivor of the crash, having lived 72 days in the Andes. The author reflects on many things and the lessons he learned through his experience. ( )

This is the story of one of the survivors from the airplane crash in the Andes mountains in 1972. The survivors were rescued after 72 days of living on the very edge of life and death. As a kid, I’d read Alive, an excruciatingly detailed book about it. This shorter book tells the same story but it is also a love story to the mountain into which they crashed, from which the author continues to experience a profound peace. That alone seems unfathomable until you read his story. His story is so emotional about how much he learned about himself and nature, and life and death. He is able to be with his “brothers” who died there and to reunite with those still living to visit the site. And he ponders life’s complexities and mysteries from that experience on the mountain. I’m glad it was so different from Alive. It’s an excellent explanation of the extent of human love and endurance. ( )

The powerful story of Eduardo Strauch one of the survivors of the plane crash in the Andes in 1972. It wasn't until 2006, when I hiker found some of the authors personal belongings near the crash site that Strauch decide it was time to tell his story on the mountain after the crash. it is a powerful story about loss and what he found on the mountain. ( )

Eduardo Strauch Urioste was a passenger on the infamous plane that crashed in the Andes mountains in 1972. Rescuers couldn’t even locate the plane, much less the survivors. For 72 days, the people who survived the initial crash lived on snow, the few supplies they could salvage from the plane, and cannibalism. Strauch reflects on his time on the mountain and the ways it shaped his life afterward, strengthened his faith, and bonded him to the other passengers in unbreakable ways.

I didn’t know much about this event other than the bare minimum prior to reading this book: a plane crashed in South America in the ’70s; the passengers survived by cannibalism; and the movie Alive, which I haven’t seen, is based on it. So I expected to get more of a straightforward recounting of the facts. What I got was a much more spiritual reflection. Had I known that, I might have rated this a bit higher, but since I expected a survival story and got something more contemplative, I had a hard time settling into the proper frame of mind for enjoying this book for exactly what it was.

Strauch shares his story with the utmost respect and love for his fellow survivors and those who were lost in the crash and in the 72 agonizing days afterward. He honors those whose bodies allowed him and the others to survive. He was wounded pretty badly in the crash so his ability to help with foraging for supplies and setting up shelter was limited. He’s thankful to those who were physically able to do more and who had more knowledge to share. They willingly gave everything they could to the group to ensure as many people survived as possible. His love for them shone from the pages.

The story of the crash and survival was interesting to me. But that all wrapped up rather quickly and the author spent a great deal of time on a sort of spiritual mysticism that grew among the survivors and their families. Mothers knew in their hearts whether their sons were dead or alive. Other inexplicable knowledge and fantastic coincidences that I’ve largely forgotten were detailed. Other readers will enjoy these sorts of contemplations more than I do but this part started to drag a lot for me. I am a person of faith but I consider faith to be a largely personal matter; this very public exploration and explanation started to lose me. I appreciate that a harrowing experience like this would either strengthen your faith or break it and I’m glad that Mr. Strauch became spiritually stronger. I just didn’t personally gain much by reading about it. Others will disagree.

Ultimately, the author seems to have made his peace with the mountain and to be grateful for the ways that it shaped his life afterwards. He revisits the site regularly and feels a kind of peace there that he doesn’t find anywhere else, at that place where he was perhaps closer to God than he ever will be again until his death. The heart and mind that can take such a horrific event and emerge with that sort of serenity is special indeed.

I do recommend this for readers who enjoy reading about spiritual matters more than I do. I’m glad that the author has found such a healthy way to live with the event that forever shaped his life. That sort of reflection isn’t to my personal taste but others will find comfort in it.

I downloaded this for free as part of Amazon’s monthly First Reads program for Prime members (I am NOT an Amazon affiliate). ( )