Intersection Column | The Power of a Survival Story

mtlmagazine
6 minutes ago
4 min read

by Dana Mentink

Two hours. That’s about the length of time I believe I’d maintain my composure if stranded in the wilderness. It’s possible that number is generous. I have zero sense of direction, and I can’t see beyond the end of my nose. I’m the kind that can’t find her car in the parking lot. The one time I traveled internationally I lost my passport before I even got out of the airport. So would I survive a situation where every means of communication and assistance was stripped away? Where I was left to the mercy of the elements with only my own wits to protect me? That’s a hard no.

Perhaps that’s why I’m fascinated by wilderness survival stories, reading them, watching them, listening to them, and now writing them. Over the years, I’ve devoured fictional and real-life versions, but the true stories leave me breathless. Remember the Stolpas? On their way to a funeral, the fateful decision to take a short cut left them stranded for eight days in the Nevada snow with an infant. Incredibly, they all survived.

There are plenty of historical examples too. Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 Antarctic expedition resulted in his ship becoming locked in the frozen sea and forcing him and his crew to live on an ice floe. Every single member of Shackleton’s party survived. How about the miracle in the Andes? In 1972, a plane carrying a rugby team crashed and the survivors endured 72 days before they made it to safety. And John Kraukauer’s Into the Wild, a sadder story which explores the troubled life of Chris McCandless and his attempts to survive a fierce Alaskan winter. All stories that explore the magnitude of the human spirit in the face of impossible odds.

Strength. Courage. Faith. Hope. A true wilderness survival story contains these noble elements of the human experience. That’s why I enjoy writing survival stories like my latest, Raging Waters. Imagine being hunted by a human killer but also stranded in a town where the dam is failing inch by inch. Gradually all your resources fall by the wayside—phone communication, a working vehicle, shelter, and exposure begins to take its toll along with injury. Would you survive? For how long? Fiction lets us think about those harrowing questions.

Wilderness stories allow an author to strip away the extraneous, to whittle down to the character’s essence and explore the big questions. Where does strength come from? Who are we when civilization is left far behind? What are the conversations when there’s only you and God and the stakes are life and death?

So if I’m in that town with my characters, racing for high ground and with no help coming, will I put my confidence in the Lord? Will I believe that He truly does walk with me in the fiercest storm and flood? If those truths hold in the untamed wilderness, they also sustain us in the “civilized” world, where we are each on our own sometimes harrowing journeys.

That’s the beauty of a wilderness story. As Charles Lindbergh said, “In wilderness, I sense the miracle of life, and behind it, our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia.” Who wouldn’t want to write a story like that?

About the Author

Dana Mentink is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author as well as a two-time American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award winner and the recipient of a HOLT Medallion. She was honored to receive the Author of the Year award from West Coast Christian Writers. A California native, she’s written over fifty titles for general and Christian markets in the suspense and mystery genres.

About the Book

When Mackenzie Bardine's brother Aaron was murdered in a drug deal gone wrong, she started a true crime podcast dedicated to exposing the drug kingpin responsible. On the run to the wilds of Washington to chase a recent lead, she meets none other than her brother’s best friend, Gideon. As killers begin to circle Mackenzie like sharks, it's clear to Gideon she's in over her head, and in light of his troubled past with her brother, he can't bring himself to ignore her perilous situation.

Did You Know?

Three animals spoke in the Bible; one was the humble donkey. Donkeys have never commanded a lot of respect. Few of us would think God would use such a lowly being to give his wisdom. Don’t most of us want a chorus of angels? Through one such unassuming creature, God spoke volumes—Balaam’s donkey (Numbers 22:22-35).What can we learn from this famous encounter?

Look for God’s messenger. God picks the way to get His message to us, and He will get His message through to us. Balaam was so set on doing things his way; he didn’t see the godly messenger. It took the little donkey. God uses what we will heed.
Listen to God. God spoke directly to Balaam. Oh, how many times I wished to hear directly from the mouth of God. My goodness, I’d accept an email. I like to think that, unlike Balaam, I would heed God’s direction.
After hearing God’s word, follow His direction completely. How many times does God speak to us in various way, but we don’t really listen? It doesn’t have to be a big commandment, like don’t steal or murder. It can be a small thing, like don’t go to that town.

Donkeys aren’t as glamorous as horses, long considered the ride of kings. Balaam’s lowly donkey gave us more than a ruling king. It gave us the wisdom of God.

-Susan K. Stewart, Donkey Devos: Listen When God Speaks