The Long Walk

Sorry for another lengthy post of only words. I do have a camera now thanks to my very generous sister and brother-in-law, so the return of pictures to my blog is not far off!
Eariler this year I posted about my desire to read. But, for some reason it has been hard for me to even know where to start. I had many suggestions from some of you (thank you), and they are on a list. My mom encouraged me to read Escape by Carolyn Jessop. It is about a woman's escape from the world of polygamy. I don't even think I read half of it. I couldn't go on. Too sad and weird for me. So, I read nothing over the summer.
My mother-in-law has books (and candy) in just about every corner of her large house (I'm not joking about either - it's a dangerous place to be for a sugar addict!) So, when I was there (munching on junk), I took a look around the library of a house. I found one book that looked interesting and brought it home with me.
The only other book I have read entirely for years was called In Love and War by Jim Stockdale. It is the true story of a man who lived as a Vietnam prisoner of war for a horrifying eight years. It covers his daily life as a prisoner - isolation, torture, and all. Anyway, I am on a tangent.
The book I brought home is called The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz. At age 25 (in 1939, I believe), the Polish man was falsely arrested and accused of being a spy. The Russians sentenced him to 25 years forced labor. He never again saw his new wife or family, and I am sure they never knew what happened to him. His year of torture up to his trial and sentencing was horrific, but only briefly mentioned in the book. For months him and thousands of other prisoners (I am sure all wrongly accused) were transported by cattle cars and forced to walk through the Siberian winter to the labor camp they were sentenced to. This man had angels with him. Him and 6 others are able to escape. That was the easy part. They walked for a whole year with almost no provisions. Through Siberia, Mongolia, the Gobi desert, Tibet, the Himalayas and into India where they found safety and help. Three died along the way, plus one fugitive girl who travelled with them for some time.
This book is insane. I started reading it with a disbelief in the way that one human being can treat another. Wow, it blows my mind the lack of conscience people have. The terrible grip and power Satan has. But, the Mongols and Tibetans were opposite and restored a little faith in humanity. In this book and In Love and War I was amazed at the power of the human mind. Extreme situations like these really show one's character and will. The human body and mind are amazing creations. I guess it is for these reasons I am drawn to these types of true stories.