Turbulence: A True Story of Survival

In 1992, Danish investment banker Annette Herfkens traveled to Vietnam to visit her fiancé, Willem. From there, the couple decided to take a romantic getaway. En route to a coastal resort, their plane crashed into the side of a mountain and plummeted deep into the Vietnamese jungle. Twenty-nine passengers and crew aboard the aircraft died, including Willem, leaving Annette as the sole survivor. Immobilized by serious injuries, Annette was trapped among the dead and dying, and existed on rainwater, aiming her focus away from her pain and fear. She concentrated, instead, on the green beauty of the jungle. Thus, positive energy provided sustenance that manifested into spiritual nourishment for eight days until she was finally rescued.

Herfkens's survival narrative is supplemented with photographs, official crash documents and first-person accounts by friends and loved ones of how Herfkens's ordeal affected them. The memoir further chronicles her grief and arduous physical recovery. Herfkens longed to integrate her experience and get on with "normal" life, but the incident impacted every aspect of her being, even after she returned to work, fell in love again, married and gave birth to two beautiful children, one of whom was later diagnosed with autism. The eight days Herfkens spent in the jungle--and the profound insights and spiritual gains imprinted upon her psyche--continue to guide and steady her through the often dark uncertainties of life. By navigating harrowing tests and challenges with trust, surrender and gratitude, Herfkens's meaningful story will uplift and inspire readers. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines