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True Rescue #4
Attacked at Sea (Young Readers Edition): A True World War II Story of a Family's Fight for Survival
A riveting WWII account of survival at sea—Book 4 in the middle grade True Rescue series from Michael J. Tougias, the author of the
New York Times
bestseller
The Finest Hours.
A Bank Street Best Book of the Year!
On May 19, 1942, during WWII, a U-boat in the Gulf of Mexico stalked its prey fifty miles from New Orleans. The submarine set its sights on the freighter Heredia. Most onboard were merchant seamen, but there were also civilians, including the Downs family: Ray and Ina, and their two children. Fast asleep in their berths, the Downs family had no idea that two torpedoes were heading their way. When the ship exploded, chaos ensued—and each family member had to find their own path to survival.
This inspiring historical narrative tells the story of the Downs family as they struggle against sharks, hypothermia, blinding oil, drowning, and dehydration in their effort to survive the aftermath of this deadly attack off the American coast.
Christy Ottaviano Books
New York Times bestselling author Michael J. Tougias adapts his histories of real life stories for young readers in his True Rescue Series, capturing the heroism and humanity of people on life-saving missions during maritime disasters.
Illustrated Chapter Books for ages 6-9:
True Rescue: The Finest Hours
True Rescue: A Storm Too Soon
Young Readers Adaptations, for ages 9-14
The Finest Hours (Young Readers Edition)
A Storm Too Soon (Young Readers Edition)
Into the Blizzard (Young Readers Edition)
Attacked at Sea (Young Readers Edition)
A Bank Street Best Book of the Year!
On May 19, 1942, during WWII, a U-boat in the Gulf of Mexico stalked its prey fifty miles from New Orleans. The submarine set its sights on the freighter Heredia. Most onboard were merchant seamen, but there were also civilians, including the Downs family: Ray and Ina, and their two children. Fast asleep in their berths, the Downs family had no idea that two torpedoes were heading their way. When the ship exploded, chaos ensued—and each family member had to find their own path to survival.
This inspiring historical narrative tells the story of the Downs family as they struggle against sharks, hypothermia, blinding oil, drowning, and dehydration in their effort to survive the aftermath of this deadly attack off the American coast.
Christy Ottaviano Books
New York Times bestselling author Michael J. Tougias adapts his histories of real life stories for young readers in his True Rescue Series, capturing the heroism and humanity of people on life-saving missions during maritime disasters.
Illustrated Chapter Books for ages 6-9:
True Rescue: The Finest Hours
True Rescue: A Storm Too Soon
Young Readers Adaptations, for ages 9-14
The Finest Hours (Young Readers Edition)
A Storm Too Soon (Young Readers Edition)
Into the Blizzard (Young Readers Edition)
Attacked at Sea (Young Readers Edition)
224 pages, Paperback
First published October 27, 2020
21 people are currently reading
135 people want to read
About the author
Michael J. Tougias
70 books180 followersTrue Survival, rescue and history is the topic of most of my books. that runs through most of my books. My latest book is with St. Martins Press and is titled In Deep Water: A True Story of Sharks, Survival and Courage. Other nonfiction sea survival and rescue books include Overboard! A Storm Too Soon, Rescue of the Bounty, Fatal Forecast and Ten Hours Until Dawn.
Disney made a major motion picture of my book The Finest Hours: The Trues Story of the Coast Guard's Greatest Rescue (Disney kept the same title). The movie stars Chris Pine an Casey Affleck and is a fantastic film.
My co-written history books include So Clost To Home (about surviving a Uboat attack in the Gulf of Mexico), Above & Beyond (the untold story of the Cuban Missile Crisis) King Philip's War (Native Americans vs Colonists) Abandon Ship (wwii) and several more
Another adventure for me is publishing a funny family memoir with my daughter, called The Cringe Chronicles (Mortifying Misadventures with my Dad).
My friends were been asking if I'll write a sequel to There's a Porcupine in my Outhouse (2003 Outdoor Book of the Year) and I suprised them with another book of misadventures titled The Power of Positive Fishing: A Story of Friendship and the Quest for Happiness. Also in the same category is The Waters Between Us: A Boy, A Father and Outdoor Misadventures.
Disney made a major motion picture of my book The Finest Hours: The Trues Story of the Coast Guard's Greatest Rescue (Disney kept the same title). The movie stars Chris Pine an Casey Affleck and is a fantastic film.
My co-written history books include So Clost To Home (about surviving a Uboat attack in the Gulf of Mexico), Above & Beyond (the untold story of the Cuban Missile Crisis) King Philip's War (Native Americans vs Colonists) Abandon Ship (wwii) and several more
Another adventure for me is publishing a funny family memoir with my daughter, called The Cringe Chronicles (Mortifying Misadventures with my Dad).
My friends were been asking if I'll write a sequel to There's a Porcupine in my Outhouse (2003 Outdoor Book of the Year) and I suprised them with another book of misadventures titled The Power of Positive Fishing: A Story of Friendship and the Quest for Happiness. Also in the same category is The Waters Between Us: A Boy, A Father and Outdoor Misadventures.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 1, 2024
A ship attacked — each family member must find his of her own path to survival....
What an educational book! I learned a great deal more from Attacked at Sea than I would have expected. This book focuses on just one incident that was a result of Unternehmen Pauhenschlag, or Operation Drumbeat. This was a German operation during WWII that successfully sank approximately 170 ships off the eastern coast of North America and in the Caribbean — in just four months (another nugget from history that I learned about). The deadly attack described in this book is a result of this operation. Since the style of this book is more topical, the characters do lack development; this lack of development, however, is balanced by the wealth of information learned from the plot. Also the writing can feel a bit too simple at times (too much telling and hardly any showing) but isn't that big of a deal. I was glad for the opportunity to learn some obscure history and would encourage seekers of historical adventures to read Attacked at Sea.
📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚
📖 BOOK BREAKDOWN 📖 (Overall: 3/5)
Fundamentals: (1=worst; 5=best)
— 📈 Plot: 3/5
— 📝 Writing: 2.5/5
— 👥 Characters: 2/5
Content: (0=none; 1=least; 5=most)
— 🤬 Language: 1/5
•a few uses of h— and one use of d—
— ⚔️ Violence: 0/5
— ⚠️ Sexual: 0/5
What an educational book! I learned a great deal more from Attacked at Sea than I would have expected. This book focuses on just one incident that was a result of Unternehmen Pauhenschlag, or Operation Drumbeat. This was a German operation during WWII that successfully sank approximately 170 ships off the eastern coast of North America and in the Caribbean — in just four months (another nugget from history that I learned about). The deadly attack described in this book is a result of this operation. Since the style of this book is more topical, the characters do lack development; this lack of development, however, is balanced by the wealth of information learned from the plot. Also the writing can feel a bit too simple at times (too much telling and hardly any showing) but isn't that big of a deal. I was glad for the opportunity to learn some obscure history and would encourage seekers of historical adventures to read Attacked at Sea.
📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚
📖 BOOK BREAKDOWN 📖 (Overall: 3/5)
Fundamentals: (1=worst; 5=best)
— 📈 Plot: 3/5
— 📝 Writing: 2.5/5
— 👥 Characters: 2/5
Content: (0=none; 1=least; 5=most)
— 🤬 Language: 1/5
•a few uses of h— and one use of d—
— ⚔️ Violence: 0/5
— ⚠️ Sexual: 0/5
June 30, 2021
I did not read this, but Levi says it is very well written. The story of the family separation touched his heart, he says, and how the author worked to tell each person’s story was compelling.
November 25, 2020
In 1941, the Downs family - father Ray, mother Ina, Lucille, 11, and Sonny, 8 - had hoped that by spending some time in Columbia, South America and Costa Rica in Central America, where Ray worked for the United Fruit Company, they would be able to save enough money to buy a house and new car when they returned to the United States. But now that the US had entered the war, they decided it was time to return to their home in Texas and their oldest son Terry, 14, who was staying with his grandparents. Ray also hoped to join the Marines when they were back in the U.S.
On May12, 1942, the family set sail from Costa Rica on the SS Heredia, a luxury liner turner freighter. The Downs parents were somewhat concerned about the trip. German submarines had been hunting, attacking and sinking American ships in the Atlantic Ocean and along the eastern seaboard, and now they had begun to infiltrate the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico as well.
The ship was equipped two mounted machine guns and Navy Armed Guards who kept watch 24 hours a day for German submarines. Sonny and Lucille were curious about everything on the ship and the crew willingly answered their questions. In fact, as the only two kids on board, they were treated somewhat specially by the captain and crew.
Meanwhile, two German subs had entered the Gulf on the lookout for ships like the Heredia. Most of the Heredia's trip was uneventful, but close to home, the Navy guards thought they spotted something in the water and the captain decided to change course for Corpus Christi, Texas to see if he could get any information. The Downs family, ready to be home, wanted to get off the ship in Corpus Christi, which was closer to their home, but were not permitted to. They were scheduled to arrive in New Orleans the next day.
That night, while the passengers were sleeping, the Heredia was hit with a torpedo, followed by more hits. The Downs family managed to make it out of their two staterooms together, but were separated by a rush of water on the deck that sent Ray, Ina and Sonny into the Gulf.
All four family members survived being sent overboard. Eventually, Sonny found his father, and together with the captain and another passenger managed to get one of the ship's rafts in the water. Lucille was found on the ship by one of the crew who convinced her to jump overboard. Once they were in the water and together with other crew members, he fashioned a raft out of a hatch cover for her to sit on while they held it and swam away from the sinking ship. Ina landed in a slick of warm gooey oil that coated her face, eyes and the coat she had on. Unable to see very well, Ina clung to a piece of flotsam.
The family spent 24 hours in the water before they were rescued, during which time they suffered from hypothermia, dehydration, and sharks swimming around them. The time spent in the water, hoping to be rescued in time, makes up the bulk of the book.
Attacked at Sea is a compelling story of courage and resilience, all the more so because it is not fiction. In fact, I could not put it down. Tougias and O'Leary present the events in the kind of objective journalistic style, including details that fiction might leave out. The writing style, though less emotional that fiction, feels all the more compelling. What is really interesting is the way Tougias told the story from the points of view of each family member individually, as well as the two German captains of the submarines patrolling the Gulf for ships to add to their records.
Tougias and O'Leary also continue the story with somewhat detailed information of the aftermath of the sinking of the Heredia and the impact it had on the lives of those they wrote about. To date, only Sonny is the only family member still living.
Back matter includes A Note from the Authors and an extensive Bibliography. Also included are photographs of the family, the German captains, the ship, and some crew.
Attacked at Sea should appeal to anyone interested in exciting true WWII stories.
This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was an EARC gratefully received from NetGalley
On May12, 1942, the family set sail from Costa Rica on the SS Heredia, a luxury liner turner freighter. The Downs parents were somewhat concerned about the trip. German submarines had been hunting, attacking and sinking American ships in the Atlantic Ocean and along the eastern seaboard, and now they had begun to infiltrate the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico as well.
The ship was equipped two mounted machine guns and Navy Armed Guards who kept watch 24 hours a day for German submarines. Sonny and Lucille were curious about everything on the ship and the crew willingly answered their questions. In fact, as the only two kids on board, they were treated somewhat specially by the captain and crew.
Meanwhile, two German subs had entered the Gulf on the lookout for ships like the Heredia. Most of the Heredia's trip was uneventful, but close to home, the Navy guards thought they spotted something in the water and the captain decided to change course for Corpus Christi, Texas to see if he could get any information. The Downs family, ready to be home, wanted to get off the ship in Corpus Christi, which was closer to their home, but were not permitted to. They were scheduled to arrive in New Orleans the next day.
That night, while the passengers were sleeping, the Heredia was hit with a torpedo, followed by more hits. The Downs family managed to make it out of their two staterooms together, but were separated by a rush of water on the deck that sent Ray, Ina and Sonny into the Gulf.
All four family members survived being sent overboard. Eventually, Sonny found his father, and together with the captain and another passenger managed to get one of the ship's rafts in the water. Lucille was found on the ship by one of the crew who convinced her to jump overboard. Once they were in the water and together with other crew members, he fashioned a raft out of a hatch cover for her to sit on while they held it and swam away from the sinking ship. Ina landed in a slick of warm gooey oil that coated her face, eyes and the coat she had on. Unable to see very well, Ina clung to a piece of flotsam.
The family spent 24 hours in the water before they were rescued, during which time they suffered from hypothermia, dehydration, and sharks swimming around them. The time spent in the water, hoping to be rescued in time, makes up the bulk of the book.
Attacked at Sea is a compelling story of courage and resilience, all the more so because it is not fiction. In fact, I could not put it down. Tougias and O'Leary present the events in the kind of objective journalistic style, including details that fiction might leave out. The writing style, though less emotional that fiction, feels all the more compelling. What is really interesting is the way Tougias told the story from the points of view of each family member individually, as well as the two German captains of the submarines patrolling the Gulf for ships to add to their records.
Tougias and O'Leary also continue the story with somewhat detailed information of the aftermath of the sinking of the Heredia and the impact it had on the lives of those they wrote about. To date, only Sonny is the only family member still living.
Back matter includes A Note from the Authors and an extensive Bibliography. Also included are photographs of the family, the German captains, the ship, and some crew.
Attacked at Sea should appeal to anyone interested in exciting true WWII stories.
This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was an EARC gratefully received from NetGalley
January 1, 2024
This is a remarkable story of a family's resilience and the humanity of the ship's crew members. The author provides the right amount of historical background while portraying the drama and terror of one ship's encounter with a German U-Boat in 1942, 40 miles southwest of New Orleans.
April 1, 2023
Title: Attacked at Sea
Author: Alison O’Leary and Michael J. TOugias
Genre: non-fiction world war 2 story
Category: Set in historical period (world war 2)
Date finished: 12th of March
*Spoiler Alert*
From reading this book I learned that the war didn’t just affect the people on land but the people out at sea as well. The war forced people to leave their homes but made the deep sea an unsafe place to be; trapping those not brave enough to make the journey and putting those who choose to take the risk, in grave danger. The writer is also teaching us that the U boats (the German boats that were attacking the freighter ships) don’t care about the people. Or maybe it's that they do care? Let me explain. They care enough to not shoot the survivors when they are most vulnerable, clinging onto anything that floats for dear life, hopelessly drifting out into the obis, but they don’t care enough to not shoot at their boat. I say they care, because they don’t open fire at the sailors; some German U boats even help the survivors to life rafts. Erich Würdemann wrote in his diary, “the sailor had a broken arm and was struggling to stay afloat, he was so close to us and so far from the life rafts. We aren’t here to kill humans so we allowed him to climb aboard and wait for the liferaft there.” This shows that, to the Germans, the boats they torpedo were just another number, another dash on the charts, another drop in the ocean - literally. Each sinking was significant but their aim was to stop supplies from getting to Britain by sinking ships and the casualties were just an unfortunate consequence. It’s okay on the “battlefield,” because you are fighting the enemy, not other people. The use of the word enemy is to mask the feeling that you're killing other people, other people that have families and lives - an enemy doesn't have any of that. They are simply the enemy. You can't help but think, why did the sailors do that? I think the writer is trying to show us that the German sailors do indeed have a heart and a conscience. They are demanded to torpedo the ships whether they like it or not but they aren’t being ordered to murder people, so they simply don’t - not on purpose at least. When you have no other choice but to sink ships everyday, it probably helps with the guilt. In my opinion the sailors are scared, scared of what awaits them at home if they don’t succeed, scared of the blame and pain settling in from killing so many innocent civilians. In a time where society was at its worst and the goal everyone was striving for was depriving others of basic rights and needs in order to win land. No one truly wanted that, yes they wanted land and power but I bet you no one as a child was thinking about how they would get that power by doing these horrible and unnatural things. So not only does my heart go out to those lost so much in the war, but those forced to fight, forced to sink ships with the threats of how they would have to suffer the shame, humility and embarrassment if they failed to do so. Catch 22. It was an impossible situation. I can’t even imagine the guilt these sailors must have had to take on and bear. The guilt from killing people. Because that's what they did. They couldn’t mask the idea by calling them the enemy because it was extremely one sided, they shot at the ships and they never shot back. They now have to live with that for the rest of their lives along with a lot of other people and I think that is what the writer wanted to get across and they sure did.
Author: Alison O’Leary and Michael J. TOugias
Genre: non-fiction world war 2 story
Category: Set in historical period (world war 2)
Date finished: 12th of March
*Spoiler Alert*
From reading this book I learned that the war didn’t just affect the people on land but the people out at sea as well. The war forced people to leave their homes but made the deep sea an unsafe place to be; trapping those not brave enough to make the journey and putting those who choose to take the risk, in grave danger. The writer is also teaching us that the U boats (the German boats that were attacking the freighter ships) don’t care about the people. Or maybe it's that they do care? Let me explain. They care enough to not shoot the survivors when they are most vulnerable, clinging onto anything that floats for dear life, hopelessly drifting out into the obis, but they don’t care enough to not shoot at their boat. I say they care, because they don’t open fire at the sailors; some German U boats even help the survivors to life rafts. Erich Würdemann wrote in his diary, “the sailor had a broken arm and was struggling to stay afloat, he was so close to us and so far from the life rafts. We aren’t here to kill humans so we allowed him to climb aboard and wait for the liferaft there.” This shows that, to the Germans, the boats they torpedo were just another number, another dash on the charts, another drop in the ocean - literally. Each sinking was significant but their aim was to stop supplies from getting to Britain by sinking ships and the casualties were just an unfortunate consequence. It’s okay on the “battlefield,” because you are fighting the enemy, not other people. The use of the word enemy is to mask the feeling that you're killing other people, other people that have families and lives - an enemy doesn't have any of that. They are simply the enemy. You can't help but think, why did the sailors do that? I think the writer is trying to show us that the German sailors do indeed have a heart and a conscience. They are demanded to torpedo the ships whether they like it or not but they aren’t being ordered to murder people, so they simply don’t - not on purpose at least. When you have no other choice but to sink ships everyday, it probably helps with the guilt. In my opinion the sailors are scared, scared of what awaits them at home if they don’t succeed, scared of the blame and pain settling in from killing so many innocent civilians. In a time where society was at its worst and the goal everyone was striving for was depriving others of basic rights and needs in order to win land. No one truly wanted that, yes they wanted land and power but I bet you no one as a child was thinking about how they would get that power by doing these horrible and unnatural things. So not only does my heart go out to those lost so much in the war, but those forced to fight, forced to sink ships with the threats of how they would have to suffer the shame, humility and embarrassment if they failed to do so. Catch 22. It was an impossible situation. I can’t even imagine the guilt these sailors must have had to take on and bear. The guilt from killing people. Because that's what they did. They couldn’t mask the idea by calling them the enemy because it was extremely one sided, they shot at the ships and they never shot back. They now have to live with that for the rest of their lives along with a lot of other people and I think that is what the writer wanted to get across and they sure did.
November 11, 2022
I love Tougias' True Rescue Series, because they're all non-fiction and you never know who will survive and who won't. And I love that he dips into WWII history for this one, in a phenomenal examination of submarine warfare in the Gulf of Mexico. It's not a topic that I've ever seen explored before, and this family's tale is the perfect vehicle for it.
The premise is simple: on May 19, 1942, the Downs family is almost to port in Texas when the freighter carrying bananas they're traveling in is hit by torpedoes from a U-boat.
Ray and Ina and their two kids, 8-year-old Ray Jr. and 11-year-old Betty, are thrust into the Gulf, where they have to brave ship fuel, sun, sharks, lack of food and water and the cold (yes, the Gulf is certainly warmer than the Pacific or Atlantic any day, but it's still not body temperature) to survive long enough to get rescued. And what a rescue! I won't give away the ending. You'll have to read to find out if they make it.
The book gives the Downs' story, why they were on the ship Heredia, and examines the German submarine captains (there were more than one in the Gulf at this time), their orders, their codes of honor, and their tactics.
The book reminded me to look into my own family's WWII naval history -- that of my grandfather. I still have his Navy hat. <3
Hopefully other middle grade readers will be inspired to poke into their own families' WWII backgrounds as well.
Enjoy!
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog, The Fabric of Words, for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
The premise is simple: on May 19, 1942, the Downs family is almost to port in Texas when the freighter carrying bananas they're traveling in is hit by torpedoes from a U-boat.
Ray and Ina and their two kids, 8-year-old Ray Jr. and 11-year-old Betty, are thrust into the Gulf, where they have to brave ship fuel, sun, sharks, lack of food and water and the cold (yes, the Gulf is certainly warmer than the Pacific or Atlantic any day, but it's still not body temperature) to survive long enough to get rescued. And what a rescue! I won't give away the ending. You'll have to read to find out if they make it.
The book gives the Downs' story, why they were on the ship Heredia, and examines the German submarine captains (there were more than one in the Gulf at this time), their orders, their codes of honor, and their tactics.
The book reminded me to look into my own family's WWII naval history -- that of my grandfather. I still have his Navy hat. <3
Hopefully other middle grade readers will be inspired to poke into their own families' WWII backgrounds as well.
Enjoy!
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog, The Fabric of Words, for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
April 18, 2021
Wow!! What an ordeal this family endured! This true tale was gripping and suspenseful. I appreciated that the faith of the mother was included.
Note: someone calls the men "jackasses." The mother, in fear and desperation, shouts at the sharks and fishes around her, "damn you to hell!" A man is mentioned as being naked after the attack and while waiting to be rescued, because he had been in the shower and jumped out the window when the ship was torpedoed. The father seeks revenge.
Note: someone calls the men "jackasses." The mother, in fear and desperation, shouts at the sharks and fishes around her, "damn you to hell!" A man is mentioned as being naked after the attack and while waiting to be rescued, because he had been in the shower and jumped out the window when the ship was torpedoed. The father seeks revenge.
February 26, 2021
Tells the story of the sinking of the freighter Heredia in May of 1942 shorty after the US entered WWII. The story centers on a family returning from South America to the US on the freighter and how they survived the ordeal.
September 29, 2021
An interesting true story of a family who was travelling on a United Fruits banana boat from Columbia(?) back to New Orleans and were torpedoed by U-506.
Told mostly from the point-of-view of the son, Sonny.
Told mostly from the point-of-view of the son, Sonny.
January 31, 2023
A harrowing but triumphant tale told in an appropriate style for middle-grade readers. _Attacked at Sea_ provides a balanced and focused account of one family's experience alongside that of the U-boat crew that attacked their transport.
May 9, 2021
3.5 ⭐️
January 15, 2022
Very good, interesting, and suspenseful book! Highly recommended for readers interested World War 2 (which I am!) and survival stories.
January 14, 2024
Such a well written non fiction story. This family’s fight for survival before, during, and after the ship exploded is inspiring.
February 27, 2024
These booktalk so easily and so well to kids. And I feel like I read a lot of World War II nonfiction and had NO idea how close the Germans were to the Mississippi River??
August 5, 2024
Well-written and engaging.
November 9, 2024
This book is amazing. At first it started out a bit slow but the more I read the more exciting it became!
December 31, 2024
It took almost half of the book to get to the sinking of the ship. Too much unnecessary background, especially for a novel labeled as a young reader's edition.
August 1, 2023
I accidentally found this book and just now realized it is a YA book, but I loved it. I read it in a day and there were several parts that were very intense and exciting. This was a great book that I’ll definitely read to my boys soon!
May 20, 2020
It ended abruptly, using an afterword to wrap things up that could have been incorporated into the story itself, however otherwise this was an eye-opening true story from war that is harrowing. A family-- husband, wife, and their boy and girl (their second boy was already back in the States)-- who were on a shipping container ship back from South America to get back to the United States after the father had worked in Colombia for several years. Their ship fell pray to a German U Boat in the Gulf and their survival for almost a day in shark-infested, oil-slicked water while having the sun beating down on them without food and water.
It's action in a heart-pounding way that is truly man versus nature and the coolness of the two young children is just as powerful as Ina, the mother's will to survive all alone, separated from the other groups of survivors. It's a tale that needed to be told. An a riveting survivor story where everyone in the family was reunited.
It's action in a heart-pounding way that is truly man versus nature and the coolness of the two young children is just as powerful as Ina, the mother's will to survive all alone, separated from the other groups of survivors. It's a tale that needed to be told. An a riveting survivor story where everyone in the family was reunited.
August 20, 2021
Wow, what a story. The author writes directly and clearly and so it can be hard to read about the hardships the Downs family (and heredia passengers) faced. I appreciate that the ending and epilogue speak to both the trauma, anger, and depression that they experienced from this ordeal, as well as the determination, perseverance, and resilience they had to have to build a new life.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews