A Test of Will
One Man's Extraordinary Story of Survival
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
In April 1997, Macdonald and a fellow climber and hiker decided to climb to the summit of Mount Bowen, on an island off the coast of Australia. One night, while his companion was asleep, Macdonald stepped out of the tent to heed a call of nature and wound up lying in a creek, his legs pinned under a massive rock. It was raining, too. Hard. He stayed there for nearly two days while his companion went for help, and the bulk of this book is taken up with recounting his efforts to stay warm, keep his spirits up, and avoid drowning (for a while it looked as though the creek might rise enough to submerge him).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Macdonald's love of nature is so palpable it'll make readers want to head for the nearest national park. And even after losing both legs, the man still has no regrets. An Australian house painter, Macdonald set off in April 1997 to climb the isolated peak of Queensland's Mount Bowen. Along the way he met Geert van Keulen, who, although a much less experienced hiker, agreed to come along. One night when Macdonald crept out to relieve his bladder, the creek bed underneath gave way, and he found himself trapped under a massive boulder that, no matter how hard the panicked Geert pushed against it, would not budge. Geert left for help, leaving Macdonald in searing agony, worried the rushing water would rise and drown him. After a helicopter finally arrived and rescued him, Macdonald had both his gangrenous legs cut off above the knee, and his description of his harrowing rehabilitation is almost more painful than the depiction of what he went through under the boulder. Although this isn't the most artful of stories (Geert's additions add nothing), it's a powerful tale of nature's beauty and ferocity. FYI: Macdonald's account is similar to Aron Ralston's Between a Rock and a Hard Place, which Atria is publishing in September (a review will appear in Forecasts, Aug. 2).
