Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors

by Piers Paul Read

‘Being up here makes one realize how dreadful one was before. I used to kick my brother if he annoyed me, or throw away the soup if it wasn’t just right. If only I could have that soup now.’

Certainly, prayer had assisted them – it had been a bond which held them together and a safeguard against despair – but if they had relied on prayer alone they would still be up on the mountain.

It was their own qualities of courage and endurance which had seen them through. If anything, the experience had made him less religious; he now had a stronger belief in man.