Well written, compelling and honest to the end

I loved Deep Survival, but I was sorely disappointed with Everyday Survival, so it was with some hesitation that I burned a credit on another Laurence Gonzales book, but I'm so glad I did. As someone who's faced both personal challenges with PTSD from a near-fatal car crash and from time in law enforcement and as a volunteer firefighter, this book should be required reading for those in the field. Survival never stops when the helicopter comes, backup arrives or the patient is loaded into the ambulance and you're left to roll up the hose and put it back on the truck. Surviving survival is a process; a period of time that has a starting point from the moment of trauma, but doesn't have a clearly defined ending point. It might be that you get through one horrendous incident without so much as a flash of concern, but six weeks later have a relatively minor close call that sends the alarm bells off in your mind.

This book gets that; Gonzales gets that and he does an excellent job of describing it, explaining the process, explaining the why's and how's and then talks about some of the things that have worked, some of the challenges that remain, and in the end, does one of the most courageous things an author of biographical stories can do; he revisits the survivors and tells the honest truth about their current lives. Some stories continue on, what may have seemed like resolution was only remission and the cancerous thoughts in the mind can return with seemingly no reason at all. I commend Gonzales for his honesty, because for those of us who've been there, the lies that things can just be put behind us at some point just add gasoline to the fire that's already burning inside us.

10 people found this helpful

Fascinating and beautifully done!

This book was very well-researched and filled with amazing stories. I learned a lot about the brain and human resilience. I highly recommend it!

1 person found this helpful

Uplifting, devastating, realistic, beautiful, tragic

You will feel everything there is to feel during this book. It applies to all forms of trauma / survival. You'll learn more about yourself, the world, and the human condition. Life is incredibly hard for everyone, some of us get lucky and can coast on autopilot without major incident. The rest of us incur some for of trauma or catastrophe on a spectrum of severity. This book is a helpful philosophical guide to my chronic illness that has stripped away fundamental aspects of my youth. I am not a victim, however, I am a survivor and my journey of triumphs and hardships will continue for the rest of my life. Thank you for this beautiful book.

1 person found this helpful

Awesome book

I loved this book. I recommend that you read Deep Survival first. It was excellent also.

for survivors

i enjoyed this book and Deep Survival. I love his story telling and brought meaning to my life.

Wonderful books very informative and useful

I just finished four of the writers books and they are life changing putting into perspective things you have felt instinctively into the science of the mind.

Loved the narrator

Superb

I was a big fan of Deep Survival. This read like a quintessential follow-up. It is just as superb.

Everyone should read this!

A well written, intelligent insight into how trauma effects people emotionally, biologically, and socially. The book goes beyond experiencing trauma but delves into the after effects. The studies are honest and are used to explain and decipher the hardest part of trauma- coming to live with it once it has occurred. Brilliant book! Worth the listen!