Odyssey of Redemption and Transformation
According to surveys, being stranded at sea is a top fear for many people along with public speaking, venomous snakes, and gas station bathrooms. If you're looking for a gripping read that concerns the first scenario, I highly recommend 438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea by Jonathan Franklin. Called the “best survival book in a decade” by Outside magazine, 438 Days was researched and written by a journalist who wanted to confirm if the incredible story being circulated in various media was in fact true. For fisherman José Salvador Alvarenga, land was full of trouble, especially in his hometown in El Salvador, where he was almost killed in a vicious bar fight. He left El Salvador to escape the men who wanted to finish the job and what he called "pueblo chico, inferno grande" (small town, big hell.) He eventually ended up in the remote Mexican village of Costa Azul on the Pacific coast where he soon got work, endeared himself to the local fishing co...
