Hero of the Week Austin Appelbee

“[I]t’s not what’s in your pack that separates the quick from the dead. It’s not even what’s in your mind. Corny as it sounds, it’s what’s in your heart.”

~ Laurence Gonzales, Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why

One of Catherine’s all-time favorite books is Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why, first published in 2003 by Laurence Gonzales. The book seeks to illuminate the mysteries of wilderness survival but also to show how the lessons apply to any stressful and demanding life situation.

This month, a 13-year-old Australian boy, Austin Appelbee, has captured the world’s imagination with his own heroic “deep survival” story, which resulted in the rescue of his mother and 12- and 8-year-old siblings, swept almost nine miles out to sea where they spent a total of 10 hours before being rescued. Strong winds had pushed the four family members’ kayak and two inflatable paddleboards far offshore, finally prompting Austin’s mother to send him ashore in the kayak for help.

In a four-hour ordeal, Austin first had to abandon the waterlogged kayak and then his lifejacket, swimming to shore in rough conditions. According to media accounts,

“Once he had swum the 4km (2.49 miles) to shore in fading light, the teenager ran 2km (1.24 miles) to his family’s accommodation, using his mother’s phone to call emergency services at about 6pm.”

Reports suggest that Austin’s “feat of endurance exceeded the limits of what is normally perceived as possible,” with experts crediting “mind over matter” and positive self-talk as factors that helped give him the “superhuman” strength he needed to make it to shore. Austin himself told reporters, “I was just thinking in my head I was going to make it through, but I was also thinking about all my friends.” He also says, “It was God the whole time. I kept on praying, kept on praying.”

If Gonzales’s findings are any indication, this boy’s “deep survival” experience at such a young age promises an enduring resilience as he grows into adulthood.