Bracing for Impact: True Tales of Air Disasters and the People Who Survived Them

By Robin Suerig Holleran, Lindy Philip and David Soucie

“Provides real world insight to those that have experienced the life-threatening event of an airplane crash” (Les Abend, Boeing 777 captain and CNN Aviation Analyst).
 
Being strapped in the seat of a plane as it plunges into a nosedive midair is everyone’s worst nightmare. The two women who compiled Bracing for Impact know. They have both lived out that fear and survived, albeit badly hurt, in their own plane crashes.
 
In this collection of true-life survivor tales, people from all walks of life—a freelance writer, a crew member of the Lynyrd Skynyrd band, a naval flight surgeon, a teenager, and a newlywed on her honeymoon, among others—recount their traumatic narrow escapes as engines stalled, fuel ran out, hazardous weather conditions descended, and landings did not go according to plan. In the face of death, as life flashed before their eyes—or not, as some wryly note—these survivors encountered the terrific split of before and after the crash. Their lives, though preserved, would change forever.
 
In heart-wrenching, unrelenting honesty, these stories explore the wide spectrum of impacts on survivors—ranging from debilitating fear, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse, to a renewed sense of urgency, where survivors swear to live each day to the fullest and rededicate their lives to helping others. Bracing for Impact is as much a horrific account of air disasters as it is a celebration and recognition of the people who survived them.
 
“I found the survivor’s perspective fascinating . . . The book is valuable reading for both pilots and passengers.” —Flying

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 27, 2015
• ISBN: 9781510700321

Reviews for Bracing for Impact

[linda.marsheells · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Bracing For Impact is a book of stories written by members of an unique unenviable club. Those who have been in both private and commercial plane crashes and lived to tell about it......the relief, the shock, the fear that takes hold for years and the the guilt. Having worked at a flight school myself, and been married to a corporate pilot i have had my share of horror. At this point in my life i have chosen to never fly....even tho logically i know it's quite safe! A group of folks who found each other on-line and formed a type of 'lean on my shoulder, i understand' club that no one ever hopes to join.Simple stories with explanations and follow-ups, not heavy duty aviation terms.