True Survival

On January 19, 2000, a fire raged through the freshman dormitory at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, killing three students and injuring 58 others. Among the victims were Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos, roommates from poor neighborhoods who made their families proud by getting into college. They managed to escape the fire, but both were burned terribly.

Step into Chicago during the 1960s and ’70s, when mobsters influence everyone from strip-club owners to Teamsters, aldermen, judges, and local police. It is a world where good men are corrupted by the irresistible lure of money and power and families are shattered by lies, violence, and tragedy.

Childhood or wildhood? This collection of stories begins with a young boy whose cleverness, ability, and determination are more in line with an adult rather than the curious-minded six-year-old that we are introduced to in the first story. Normal was never to be a part of Marcel Pontbriand’s life. Orphaned at the tender young age of 14 and with only pennies to his name, you’ll listen about how he took to the ice roads of Canada and met with fear, tragedy, and obstacles that only few could even imagine.

Trapped inside a burning Lancaster bomber, 20,000 feet above Berlin, airman John Martin consigned himself to his fate and turned his thoughts to his fiancee back home. In a miraculous turn of events, however, the 21-year-old was thrown clear of his disintegrating airplane and found himself parachuting into the heart of Nazi Germany. He was soon to be captured and began his period as a prisoner of war.

Journalist Nicole Madigan was stalked for over three years. The relentless and debilitating experience wreaked havoc in her personal and professional life, leaving her trapped in a constant state of fear and anxiety. Nicole uses her own story as an entry point to examine the psychology behind stalking behaviours and their impact on victim-survivors. Whether by a stranger, acquaintance or former partner, stalking can have a catastrophic effect on a victim-survivor's mental, social and financial wellbeing. At its worst, it can lead to physical violence, even death.

Full of action-packed experiences from world conflicts, this collection of war stories - some true, some not - tells tales of POWs surviving in Vietnam, World War II, and Cambodia. These stories of grit and strength put you in the middle of the action and will leave you with a respect for true war heroes. Beyond Survival is a journey into the invincible human spirit that unites heart and mind in a compelling and unforgettable experience.

On March 28, 1944, six-year-old Tati and her four-year-old sister, Andra, were roused from their sleep and arrested. Along with their mother, Mira, their aunt, and cousin Sergio, they were deported to Auschwitz. Over 230,000 children were deported to the camp, where Josef Mengele, the Angel of Death, performed deadly experiments on them. Only a few dozen children survived, Tati and Andra among them.

Lisa Joseph is one of the lucky survivors. On April 4, 1991, she and two other family members stopped by the Good Guys Electronics Store in Sacramento, California. As they left the store, she was grabbed by the hair and shoved against the wall. Shots rang out and four Asian gunmen seized the store to protest their frustrations and unhappiness with their lives in the United States. Thirty-eight people were held at gunpoint and before the day was out the suspects deliberately shot, stabbed or wounded 11 of the hostages, and killed three others.

Here’s a little-kept secret: liberals, independents, and conservatives all own firearms. Gun ownership is one of the few issues that crosses all sides of the aisle. In their book, Guns and Self-Defense: 23 Inspirational True Crime Stories of Survival with Firearms, Robert A. Waters and Sim Waters describe exciting true stories in which a cross-section of Americans used guns to fend off violent assailants.

In this work of deep reflection, insight, and vulnerability, Caroline Brunne shares her story of becoming the woman she is today. From the shores of the picturesque island of Mauritius, to suburban Victoria, through to her childhood home in Queensland, deep in the heart of her life journey is her lived experience of trauma, the impact of childhood sexual abuse and her ongoing quest to support her fellow survivors to reduce the shame they may carry.

Maxwell Smart tenía solo once años cuando toda su familia fue asesinada. Pudo haber muerto también, pero su madre le ordenó salvarse. Huyó al bosque, cavó un hoyo para refugiarse y buscó comida en las granjas cercanas. Con la ropa hecha harapos y al borde de la inanición, escapó repetidamente de la muerte a manos de los nazis. Después de meses en soledad, Maxwell se encontró con otro niño que deambulaba por el bosque en busca de comida. Janek, al igual que Maxwell, era huérfano y los dos se hicieron amigos.

Michelle Segrest dreamed of checking one giant challenge off her bucket list. Boarding a 43-foot sailboat to rekindle her relationship of six years, she set out on the eight-month voyage from North Germany to Alabama filled with hope. But suffering extreme seasickness and heavy gales in the Baltic proved the least of her problems when she faced abusive gaslighting from her partner. Unable to keep food down long enough to help when maintenance issues struck, Michelle’s only comfort came from her two devoted beagles.

On June 19, 2001, Ryan Corbin, grandson of Pat Boone and son of Lindy Boone Michaelis, accidentally stepped through a skylight and fell three stories onto a cement floor. As Ryan lingered between life and death in intensive care, Pat and Lindy decided to take action in a big way: They went on Larry King Live, shared their faith, and asked millions of TV viewers to pray for Ryan. Heaven Hears is the amazing story of what happened next. You won't want to miss this story of tragedy and triumph from the Boone family. It's a story of the immovable faith of a mother, the incredible power of prayer, and the undeniable evidence that heaven hears us.

If you met Ron Carlson, CEO of a Chicago-based architectural firm, you wouldn't necessarily think of him as the daredevil type. But Ron's life has been a series of death-defying exploits. Into the Unknown: True Stories of a Pilot Cheating Death chronicles a few of Ron's most brazen endeavors, from flying to the high Arctic and being stalked by polar bears to bailing out of an old World War II bomber before it crashes.

Tough Island is a movie for your ears. Author Crash Barry’s evocative, gritty, and funny storytelling, authentic sound effects, and vocal dramatics create a soundscape that transports you to Maine’s most remote inhabited island. Crash narrates and voices the entire cast of memorable characters, including the salty Captain Donald and his insufferable wife, brawny fishermen, and other eccentric islanders.

Bland spillrorna efter tsunamin i det som nyss var ett paradis, trotsar hon sin sönderslagna kropp i kampen för sina barn och sin man. Hon tvingas finna oanade styrkor inom sig själv och fastän rädslan för en nästa våg ständigt är närvarande, låter hon inte någon, eller något stå i hennes väg.

In the winter of 1959, a group of nine young and experienced hikers embarked on a journey into the Ural Mountains of Russia. Although they had previously undertaken cold-weather trips, this particular expedition would tragically be their last. During their trek, the hikers encountered something unexpected in the supposedly desolate region, resulting in the demise of the entire group. The exact events of that fateful night remain unknown, but the incident has since become one of the world's most perplexing mysteries.

Natalie Queiroz was eight months pregnant when she was stabbed by her partner in the most vicious attack imaginable. In the space of nine minutes, and in broad daylight, Natalie was stabbed 24 times with a carving knife. She suffered horrific wounds to her lungs, liver, stomach and uterus, whilst the knife missed her baby by a margin of two millimetres, before the arteries in her wrists were methodically severed by the attacker she finally realised was her partner. After heroic intervention by passers-by and police, the attack was brought to an end, but her ordeal was not over.

Experience a hurricane in Cabo San Lucas, where 27 boats went up on the beach. Then sail across the pacific with nothing but a sextant, make an 800 mile error, and then end up arriving as a volcano is erupting!

On a rainy night in December 1938, former Nazi official Max Immanuel climbed into his car in Berlin and set out on a harrowing mission. Over the course of a single night, he planned to travel to the gates of Dachau—Nazi Germany’s first concentration camp—to rescue a Jewish prisoner. Max’s mission was profoundly dangerous, and unusual, because this former Third Reich official was a Jew himself. Born Imanuel Rosenfeld, Max had changed his name and his religion, living in fear that his truth would be discovered.