Eduardo Strauch

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.… (mehr)

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.… (mehr)