Thursday Review: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Unbroken was one of my vacation books. Pretty intense for vacation reading, but worth it. This book was riveting. It's the story of Olympic runner, Louis Zamperini, and his experiences during World War II as a bombadier in the Pacific. A kid who liked to get into trouble (mainly by stealing), he grew up to become a runner who might have been the first to break the four-minute mile, had not the war intervened.

On an Air Force search mission over the Pacific, his plane was shot down. He, the pilot, and one of the crew survived on a raft for 47 days, were then captured by the Japanese and subjected to incredible torture and humiliation. Yet he never gave up or gave in. He remained in a POW camp until he was liberated at the war's end. He struggled to return to normal life and did. He's now in his nineties and still going strong.

This was an amazing saga of survival and resilience against almost insurmountable odds. Why did I choose to review it here? Because it has something to teach us. Most of us have lived through tragedy, and it's scarred us. But Louie's story shows that we can stay strong and create something good with the time we have left in spite of what we've endured.

Not only is Louie a role-model for us, but so is the author Laura Hillenbrand. For many years she has suffered from severe chronic fatigue syndrome, sometimes so severe that she is unable to leave her room. Yet she has now authored two highly regarded books--this one and Seabisquit. Her strength of character and determination are, in their way, as impressive as Louie's.