Description
In this first-hand account, John Volanthen reveals how he pushed the limits of human endurance in the life-or-death mission to rescue the Thai youth soccer team trapped in the flooded cave.
The world held its breath in 2018 when the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach went missing deep underground in the Tham Luang cave complex in northern Thailand. They had been stranded by sudden, continuous monsoon rains while exploring the caves after practice.
With torrential rain pouring down and the waters still on the rise, an army of rescue teams and equipment was deployed, including Thai Navy SEALs, a US Air Force special tactics squadron, police sniffer dogs, drones and robots. But it was British cave diver John Volanthen and his partner, Rick Stanton, who were first to reach the stranded team and who played a key role in their ultimate rescue.
As John’s light flickered from one boy to another, he called out, ‘How many of you?’ ‘Thirteen,’ a boy answered. After 10 days trapped in desperate darkness, the boys and their coach were all alive.
Each chapter of Thirteen Lessons that Saved Thirteen Lives tells one part of the edge-of-your-seat mission from Tham Luang but also imparts a life lesson, gleaned from John’s previous rescues and record-breaking cave dives, that can be applied to everyday obstacles and challenges.
In this story of breathtaking courage and nerves of steel, John reveals how responding positively to the statement, ‘But I can’t…’ by stating, ‘I can,’ led to one of the most incredible rescues of all time.
He hopes that his story will inspire the superhero in you. Meanwhile, he is always on standby for the next rescue.
Details
- Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
- Title: Thirteen Lessons That Saved Thirteen Lives
- Author: John Volanthen
- Genre: Memoir
- Length: 304 pages
- Publisher: Aurum Press
- Release Date: July 13, 2021
My Thoughts
Thirteen Lessons That Saved Thirteen Lives begins each chapter with a short thought or lesson and then tells how that lesson applies to the rescue of the 13 from the cave that flooded in Thailand.
In the summer of 2018, twelve boys and their soccer coach decided to explore the Tham Luang cave complex in northern Thailand. But when it flooded, their escape was impossible. And even with the Thai Navy SEALs help, there seemed no way to rescue the 13.
That’s when this story really begins. It is filled with 13 chapters, each starting with titles such as these
A. Start With Why Not
B. Listen To the Quiet Voice, and
C. Zoom In, Zoom Out
After each short lesson is described, the cave rescue story continues. A story I didn’t want to stop reading. The descriptions kept me on the edge of my seat. The ability to save these individuals seemed impossible and horribly stressful. But putting myself in the place of the trapped, hungry, scared individuals didn’t feel good either. It seemed that both the rescuers and the trapped were in difficult situations. The possibility of rescue felt hopeless.
Though I knew the outcome from watching the news, the story still kept my heart pounding and the pages turning. It’s one thing to know the outcome, and another to actually read the details.
My Concerns
Nothing.
Final Thoughts
I highly recommend this book. In fact, the lessons and story were so interesting that I kept thinking that the book would make a perfect graduation gift. I say that only because in many ways it’s a challenge to reach out and embrace life.
My thanks to NetGalley for the ability to read this book and write a review with no stipulations.
Rating
About the Author
John Volanthen began caving with the scouts at the age of 14 and is now a world record-holding British cave diver who has been at the forefront of underground rescue and exploration for over twenty years. Best known as the first diver to locate and contact the missing youth Thai soccer team with his diving partner Rick Stanton, he also planned and participated in the children’s rescue, carrying three children to safety. John has been involved in search, rescue and recovery operations as well as mapping caves worldwide. His many awards include the British and Commonwealth George Medal, Royal Humane Society Bronze medal and Scientific Exploration Society Pioneer with Purpose. With a background in medical electronics, John has invented underwater mapping devices, communications systems and state of the art, micro rebreathers, allowing divers to stay underwater longer than was previously possible. In 2005 at Wookey Hole in Somerset, Volanthen and Stanton advanced the British cave diving depth record to 90 m (295 ft). As part of an international team, he set a world record for the longest cave dive from the surface, reaching over 10km (33,000 ft) in the Pozo Azul cave system in the Rudrón Valley in Spain. John lives in Bristol and continues to explore and document underwater caves throughout the world. He is always on standby for the next rescue.
OOO I am going to see if this is still available! Sounds like a really good book.