438 Days
It has been quite a while since my last review; 3 weeks to be exact! Things have been pretty heckers, and I'll write a post on my LifeBlog to update you all soon.
I was so excited to receive a copy of 438 Days as it is the incredible true story of Salvador Alvarenga, who is the longest person to survive lost at sea. Let me just say now that I love a great survival story! There is something so authentic about how the human mind and body shifts and adapts when forced to live relying on our basic instincts to fulfill our basic needs. Alvarenga was a professional fisherman living illegally off the coast of Mexico, when in 2012, he and his first mate were ambushed by an almighty storm. At only 25 miles from land, their engine died and they were swept away. For Alvarenga, it would be 438 days before he was back on solid land, and for his mate, Cordoba, he never would be again. An extremely emotional and raw recount of how Alvarenga battled wild weather, near starvation and dehydration, the loss of his only friend, sharks, severe depression and suicidal thoughts for almost 15 months. Author Jonathan Franklin spent a year interviewing Alvarenga and his friends, families and witnesses in order to explain how, against the extreme odds he survived and thrived lost at sea. I really enjoyed reading this book, which I did on a return trip to Southern Queensland to visit my sister and brother-in-law post Christmas. The whole time I was stopping and starting to fill in my parents and older brother on what was happening and to explain where in the Pacific ocean he was at that point. It was such a great experience, especially knowing that I piqued my bother's interest enough for him to actually want to read it himself. Rate: 7/10 Pages: 274 Format: Paperback Genre: Non-Fiction Acquired from: Pan Macmillan Publishing *I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are entirely my own* |