Literary Quote of the Month

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies," said Jojen. "The man who never reads lives only one." - George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons

Monday, May 17, 2010

Memoir Monday... Alone: Orphaned on the Ocean by Richard D. Logan and Tere Duperrault Fassbender

Alone: Orphaned on the Ocean
by Richard D. Logan PhD and Tere Duperrault Fassbender

I saw a brief interview with Tere Duperrault Fassbender on one of the major television networks last week and was fascinated by her story. When Tere Duperrault was 11 years old, Terry's family chartered a sailboat off the coast of Florida. It would be the last family vacation she ever had with her family- they were all murdered at sea. The captain had murdered his wife,Terry's parents and brother & sister. Terry had been asleep down inside the boat when she was awakened by the commotion. The captain shoved her back below, pulled the plugs on the ship and left on the dingy. He assumed Terry would drown as the ship took on water, but Terry found another little raft, jumped overboard with it and survived 4 days before being pulled to safety. The captain of the ship had survived and was telling everyone that the ship had caught on fire and everyone drowned... This is her story, a story of survival... It's been 50 years since that fateful day, and it's taken this long for Tere Duperrault Fassbender to come to terms with what happened. What happened that lead up to this tragedy? How did she survive 4 days alone in the vast waters that she was floating on? And what happened to the captain of the ship? I can't wait to read her story! Richard D. Logan is a nationally recognized expert in the psychology of solitary survival, he helps tell Tere's story...

From the Publisher... This is the first time Terry Jo, now known as Tere Duperrault Fassbender, has been able to fully tell her story. In September 1988 Oprah Winfrey reunited her with the freighter captain who saved her but, even then, she was not healed enough to reveal what it took to survive for four days adrift and alone at sea. Co-authored by psychologist and survival expert Richard Logan, readers delve into the details of how a little girl survived the murder of her family; the gradual collapse of the small cork float she used to keep afloat while guarded by a small pod of whales; and the aftermath and the reclamation of life. ALONE is the ultimate inspirational tale of good.

9 comments:

joemmama said...

I saw the interview as well and can't wait to see what you think of it. Fascinating...

Helen's Book Blog said...

This sounds so interesting! I can't wait to see what you think of the book. If you like it, I'll add it to my TBR list!

Julie P said...

This sounds like a powerful, emotional read!

bermudaonion said...

Holy cow! What an amazing story!

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Joemmama & Helen,
The story seems so interesting. And the video footage on tv was kind of eerie.. the poor girl just survived alone in the ocean, her family murdered and they give her this life size doll to comfort her and she's smiling...until she looks right in the camera and the smile fades just enough so you can tell she's just trying to put on the brave face that's expected of her... The book is on back order for a few weeks so I'll have to wait a bit before reading it... But will let you know if its worth a read.

bashtree said...

Sounds like a must-read to me! I can't wait to read your review, too. Wow!

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Julie & Bermudaonion!
This does sound like it has potential to be a very moving story. And I've seen some great reviews. Will definitely share my thoughts after reading it!

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Bashtree!
I am really eager to read this! The more I "talk" about it, the more I want to read it NOW! :-)

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I do want to read this book. Image the horror of this experience!

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