Survivorabilia: The Miracle on K2, the Thai Cave Rescue, and Other True Stories of Our Extraordinary Will to Live

A collection of the most captivating true survival tales ever told—from beloved folk heroes to unsung feats of bravery—accompanied by compelling imagery.

From retellings of classic survival epics like Ernest Shackleton's famous Antarctic expedition and the Uruguayan rugby team’s 1985 plane crashed in the Andes, to lesser-known stories like Violet Jessop, the ship stewardess who survived three sinkings including the Titanic, author Svati Narula plumbs the annals of history for the most inspirational and captivating examples of people who did not just get lucky, but who—against all odds—made it through.

This collection of over 40 stories spans over 200 years, bringing together well-known epics—like the bear attack that inspired the 2015 film The Revenant, to lesser-known stories like Ada Blackjack, the Inupiaq woman who singlehandedly kept herself, her shipmate, and a cat alive for months on an island in the Arctic, and many more.

Each story is accompanied by a compelling artifact, photo, or piece of art, such as the abandoned shrine a runner hid inside to escape a sandstorm in the Sahara Desert, to the cairn built to honor the climber who saved five of his friends from falling to certain death in what became known as “the miracle belay.”

These narratives illuminate how we behave in the darkest moments, and how we find hope even when all seems lost. They tap into something universal—our will to overcome against all odds.