Tragedies

[Selina]

I was going to write 'do you like reading books about tragedies' but then thought that doesn't sound right...I don't think anyone LIKES tragedy.

However they are fascinating in a sense because we want to know how people died or their lives up to that point, or even the circumstances that bring tragedies about (often a fatal flaw in human nature, called harmatia)

Some of the tragic stories I have read..are usually disasters of human error like
Titanic (ship sinking)
Pike River Mine (mine blowing up)
Mt Erebus (plane crashing into mountain)
Tangiwai (Train being swept off a bridge because of a lahar flow from mountain, meaning the river overflowed in a torrent near the rails)

and often the victims are people caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. So that may not make any of us immune to tragedies.

Then there's your average car crashes - Princess Diana, Princess Grace
assasinations - JFK,
drug overdoses - Amy Winehouse, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson
down to AIDS and Cancers and other seemingly preventable illnesses.

My question is what is the most tragic bio you have read? What do the majority of people die of in your bios that you read?

[Koren]

The Children's Blizzard

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl

[Selina]

Eyes of the Tailless Animals: Prison Memoirs of a North Korean Woman

This one was hard to read...with people going through famine and torture. Other tragedies are sudden and quickly over, this one was prolonged.

[Fishface]

I have read more than a few of these in my time. Many of course are true crime but there are plenty of others out there:

Curse of the Narrows: The Halifax Explosion 1917
Titanic Survivor: The Newly Discovered Memoirs of Violet Jessop Who Survived Both the Titanic and Britannic Disasters
I Had to Survive: How a Plane Crash in the Andes Inspired My Calling to Save Lives
Fatal Forecast: An Incredible True Tale of Disaster and Survival at Sea
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
Not Lost Forever: My Story of Survival
Tears of Rage: From Grieving Father to Crusader for Justice: The Untold Story of the Adam Walsh Case
Cry Bloody Murder: A Tale of Tainted Blood
The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk
Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

[Karin]

I don't read many of these, but have read a few this year. However, one of the ones I liked the best was the audiobook of Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania

[Julie]

Karin wrote: "I don't read many of these, but have read a few this year. However, one of the ones I liked the best was the audiobook of Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania"

That was so interesting.

[Selina]

This book comes to mind as the most tragic

The Long Exile: A Tale of Inuit Betrayal and Survival in the High Arctic by Melanie McGrath

[Selina]

Some more tragic books. Are epidemics counting as tragic?
Well this one has countless numbers of death, some that could have been prevented with better hygiene -

Outbreak!: 50 Tales of Epidemics that Terrorized the World by Beth Skwarecki

And Black Flu 1918: The Story of New Zealand's Worst Public Health Disaster
was an interesting overview (with pics) but I liked That Terrible Time by the same author better as it had eyewitness accounts from 110 survivors.

[Sarah]

My memoir, “As a Result” covers both the tragedy and triumphs of growing up in an alcoholic home. The stories I share highlight my coming-of-age, my marriage and my recovery from alcoholism. One of the most therapeutic endeavors I’ve ever taken on was writing about my grief. Having lost a baby, a beloved brother and a beloved sister to tragic circumstances thrust me into troubled waters, but writing brought me up for air. The simplest definition of an alcoholic is a person who has problems AS A RESULT of their drinking. I hope you’ll read my memoir, available by messaging me on my author page (Sarah Blizzard Robinson) and on amazon under Sarah Blizzard. Thank you!

[Sylvia]

Sarah wrote: "My memoir, “As a Result” covers both the tragedy and triumphs of growing up in an alcoholic home. The stories I share highlight my coming-of-age, my marriage and my recovery from alcoholism. One of..."

would be happy to read and review - do yo a swap if you like - send me your MS and i will send you mine. xx