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Books > Fiction > True stories > Endurance & survival
On the 14th of September 1979, Ronnie Muhl closed the cover of a
book titled Everset The Impossible Victory by Peter Habeler. It
ignited within him a burning desire to climb to the highest point
on our planet and he spent the next 27 years trying to make that
dream a reality. In 2006, he found himself high in the Death Zone
on Mount Everest facing a life-threatening situation. He made the
traumatic decision to turn around with less than 150 vertical
metres to go before reaching the summit. That decision saved his
life and afforded him the opportunity of returning to the mountain
in 2007. This time, as the leader of the first successful South
African expedition to the North side of Mount Everest, he became
the seventh South African to summit via the North-east Ridge. This
is the inspiring tale of the tears and triumphs associated with
surviving the Death Zone.
100 of the most astonishing stories of human survival, adventure
and exploration, chosen by Levison Wood. We are always captivated
by tales of courage and bravery, of world-firsts and death-defying
experiences. In this anthology, explorer and bestselling author
Levison Wood has gathered 100 of the most fascinating accounts of
human endurance throughout history. From the heroism of Antarctic
explorers to pioneering women in the Middle East, from
record-breaking athletes to survivors of war and torture, this
wide-ranging collection embraces both classics of the genre, as
well as new and neglected voices. The extracts are organised around
a range of themes; you will find those who sought out new
frontiers, or who purposely tested their physical limits in full
knowledge of the dangers or risks they might face, but also those
who endured persecution and suffering, or were thrust into life or
death situations yet defied the odds to survive. Endurance is
packed full of you-couldn't-make-it-up true stories and adventure
fiction classics, from the high seas to the poles, from
inhospitable jungles and deserts to the unknown realms of space,
through physical and mental despair to euphoric highs. Yet all of
these extraordinary stories celebrate the enduring nature of the
human spirit, and show the mental and physical determination it
sometimes takes to achieve one's aims. This varied and compelling
collection will take you on an adventure around the world, but also
on an emotional journey exploring what it means to be human.
Includes extracts about and by Ernest Shackleton, Robert Falcon
Scott, Sir Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay, Amelia Earhart, Marie
Colvin, Jon Krakauer, Solomon Northup, Ella Maillart, Freya Stark,
Ed Stafford, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Aron Lee Ralston, Maria Elena
Moyano, Gertrude Bell, Isabelle Eberhardt, Nellie Bly, Alex
Honnold, Nelson Mandela, David Nott, Jules Verne, Neil Armstrong
and Scott Kelly.
From Sunday Times bestselling author... 'Henry Fraser is one of the
most remarkable people I've ever met' J.K. Rowling 'What a story of
transformation, inner power and inspiration' Jonny Wilkinson Mouth
artist, motivational speaker and author of the inspirational memoir
The Little Big Things, Henry Fraser, explores the transformative
power of acceptance in this motivational guide. If The Little Big
Things was about Henry's past, The Power in You is about his
present and his future. And through understanding his daily
experience, Henry teaches us all how best we can live. This book is
about right now, and it's about tomorrow. It's about recognising
progress, it's about accepting our past to become free of it, it's
about living in the now to avoid anxiety. It's future focused on
the positive. Henry discusses acceptance, how to adapt and deal
with our pasts, how to forgive ourselves, and how to forgive
others. He will remind us to live in the present and just how
empowering that can be, how to work through self-doubt, how to
become aware of our progress, and how everything you need in life
comes from within you. The power is in you.
Groomed and procured by a woman, raped by several men and labelled
'one of the most abused girl in Rotherham', now Elizabeth Harper is
fighting for answers as to why so many people paid to protect our
children simply turned a blind eye. Aged just 15, lonely and
bullied by her peers, Elizabeth 'El' Harper felt like an outcast.
But then a chance encounter in the street with a friendly woman
suddenly brought hope to her world. A friendship between El and
this benevolent stranger blossomed, and life began to feel worth
living again. As the months passed, El grew more and more distant
from her family. One day, she didn't return home to her parents at
all ... Snatched is the shocking true story of how a young girl was
taken from the streets and groomed into Britain's biggest
sex-trafficking ring, all at the hands of a woman. It is also an
inspiring account of how trauma can turn vulnerability to strength
in the most extraordinary of ways.
Rain is lashing down when Barby Keel is called out to an emergency
unfolding at the gates of her animal sanctuary, deep in the Sussex
countryside. A greyhound had been dumped under the cover of
darkness, and is at death's door. In the 37 years she has dedicated
her life to the welfare of animals, Barby has witnessed the horrors
that humans are capable of, but never has she seen anything as
barbaric as this poor dog's condition. Cigarette burns scar his
flank, and he is so malnourished that he struggles to stand, every
rib showing through his patchy fur. It's touch-and-go whether he
will survive the night. The dog, who Barby names Bailey, proves he
has a fighting spirit and, slowly but surely, begins the long road
to recovery. But Barby is facing her own battle with ill health -
one that threatens the future of the entire sanctuary... Will You
Love Me? is an emotional, joyful true story of the deepest bond
that exists between humans and animals, and shows how in rescuing
others, we can rescue ourselves.
How do you stop your past from determining your future? "It's what
daddies do with their little girls," he explains, "every little
girl does it. But it's a secret, and you must not talk about it."
Cassie was too young to remember when her father started abusing
her, but she remembers how unclean it made her feel. When she got
married at sixteen and had a family of her own, she thought she'd
finally escaped his clutches, but he found a way to make sure she
could never move on. Turning to drink to cope, Cassie's babies were
taken into care and her husband left her. Now would begin the
biggest challenge of her life: winning her children back and
working to eclipse the pain of the past. This is the heartbreaking
true story of a little girl that just wanted to be loved.
Children of the Revolution is a book of converging worlds. In it
you discover the very human weave of courage, perseverance and
vision, woven with a delightful touch of humour and surprise. It
also has the beguiling pattern of a journey unfolding. And as it
unfolds, you learn. And you are inspired. Children of the
Revolution, by Feroze Dada, is a story which begins with a chance
meeting at a family gathering in Burma (Myanmar) with a freedom
fighter from the Pa'O region in the northeast of the country, and
which then takes you on to a monastery on the shores of beautiful
Inle Lake in Shan State. There, at the Buddhist monastery of Phaya
Taung, the head monk Phongyi is passionately caring for and
teaching more than 600 orphaned and refugee children of the
revolutionary wars. You discover that both the freedom fighter and
the Buddhist monk are in their different ways forces of nature, or
men of action, and while you learn about their lives, you also find
the human goodness that shines in the darkness of war, and you
witness the path of the dhamma in the world. You cannot fail to be
encouraged by Phongyi's example to `go beyond one's imagination
because there is no limit'. But at the same time, another story is
unfolding, and that is the journey of self-discovery of Feroze
Dada, who moves with his Burmese wife MuMu between his metropolitan
western life and Taunggyi in the northeast of Burma, where her
family live, and in doing so finds a new reality and purpose.
Feroze is a man of action too, as you will discover. And he has
written an inspirational story which is all the more powerful when
you consider that his reasons for making the journey are literally
a world away from what transpired. There are no accidents, the law
of karma tells us, but we're not the sole cause of our experiences
either.
On 25 January 2018, Elisabeth Revol and her climbing partner Tomasz
Mackiewicz summited Nanga Parbat, the killer mountain. Situated in
the Karakoram, the world's ninth-highest peak is an immense
ice-armoured pyramid of rock rising to an altitude of 8,125 metres.
Elisabeth and Tomek had completed only the second winter ascent of
the mountain, and Elisabeth had become the first woman to summit
Nanga Parbat in winter. But their euphoria was short-lived. As soon
as they reached the top, their adventure turned into a nightmare as
Tomek was struck by blindness. In her own words, Elisabeth tells
the story of this tragedy and the extraordinary rescue operation
that resounded across the globe as fellow climbers flew in from K2
to help the stricken pair. She confronts her memories, her terror,
her immense pain and the heartbreak of having survived, alone. To
Live is Elisabeth Revol's poignant tribute to her friend and
climbing partner.
Charmaine Richardson's highly personal and revealing account
describes how she was abused as a child within her comfortable,
middle-class London home. It describes the `time bomb' for her and
her family, something that led to depression, counselling and a
chance meeting with sex-offender expert Ray Wyre, who she married
in 1999. A large part of the book is given over to her life with
Ray, his work at the Gracewell clinic and an analysis of his book,
The Murder of Childhood (2nd Edn., Waterside Press, 2018) and the
failure of politicians to heed his warnings about how we need to
understand and deal with perpetrators. The book also contains the
author's own views on bringing-up children to feel safe,
comfortable and resistant to the devious ways in which paedophiles
operate, including by the language we use with `little people'.
Shows how the author was left to unpick the chaos of Wyre's
personal life, his debts incurred in pursuit of his mission,
gambling and the free-spending lifestyle that stood at odds with
and was an escape from his intense professional commitment.
"Eat Pray Love" meets "The Secret". What if your "superpower" was
to create the life of your dreams? Who would you have to be? What
would you have to do? Would you have to travel far and wide to
discover whom you truly are within? In Book 3, Diamond Revealed,
Smita gets powerful lessons on how to go beyond the struggles of
life, to find herself, to succeed big time and thrive. She finds
the key to opening up to true love and to see whom she has to be
for her soul partner to show up in her space. She discovers how to
allow life to be easy, effortless and joyful.At the end of Book
2,Web of Karma, Smita was diagnosed with a fatal disease and
doctors refused to operate. How does she get out of this desperate
situation?In her quest for healing, her inner voice leads her to
the islands of Hawaii where she has mind-blowing mystical
encounters that free her to live into a fabulous future which
seemed impossible before.Back in London, sudden tragic events bring
long overdue completion with loved ones. It is only then that she
can finally meet the love of her life, unleashing an explosion of
desire and passion.
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