Unbroken: A Story of Resilience

I guess you could say that I am a pretty big reader. Since the age of six, I've consumed countless books. I read everything--mystery, fantasy, romance, nonfiction--but I have to say that, these days, I tend to read mostly nonfiction. However, I still like the feeling of a story unfolding, which is why narrative nonfiction--factually accurate narratives--are so compelling to me.

Despite the many great narrative nonfiction books in the world, my favorite will always be Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. You may have heard of it--it's a pretty famous book. I discovered it four years ago in an airport bookstore. I was surprised at how fast I was sucked into the story. Hillenbrand's masterful writing and extensive research probably played a big role. 

The protagonist of Unbroken is Louis Zamperini, a U.S prisoner of war survivor of WWII and an Olympics distance runner. I don't know why this book is so close to my heart. In many ways, Zamperini follows the stereotypical hero's journey. He is pulled out of the "ordinary world" of America and literally goes to Berlin for the 1936 Olympics. He enters "the unknown" over and over again when he runs for America at the Olympics, fights as a bomber, and becomes a prisoner of war when his plane crashes into the ocean. There are many horrifying, scary ordeals that Zamperini goes through, especially in the POW camp where he is beaten by Japanese soldiers. The sheer amount of challenges he faced sometimes made me wonder if Hillenbrand is exaggerating. 

Zamperini follows the hero's journey but his call to adventure and entry into the unknown doesn't consist of magical worlds or fairy tale creatures. There isn't one single villain in the book. Rather, Zamperini enters the world of competitive sports and of war. He faces "villains" like war and certain Japanese POW overseers. Yet, I think this still appeals to people, perhaps even more so than Superman or Spiderman. While we can only dream about supernatural heroes, Louis Zamperini was very real and his story was very true. His journey is closer to home so its reality influences people a lot more. 

The values and traits that Hillenbrand emphasizes throughout the book are hinted at even in the title, Unbroken. Louis Zamperini, despite starvation, abuse, and loss of hope, in war and in POW camp, was somehow to stay alive and return home. Not only that, he was able to remain unbroken, mentally and spiritually, despite his suffering. This is definitely a key theme in this hero's narrative: resilience. The idea that even faced with defeat, heroes are able to draw on their last bit of strength and overcome is a very appealing one. I think resilience in the heroes we see and read about often reflect our own desire to surpass the obstacles and challenges in our own lives. Perhaps we draw inspiration from them and look to people like Zamperini as role models. 

Louis Zamperini was a war hero and a survivor. Many people have called his journey an "odyssey" of some sorts. Indeed, some of the trials he went through were almost mythical--after crashing into the ocean, he floated on a raft for a hundred days, hunting sharks and fish, until he was taken prisoner by the Japanese. In that way, he can be compared to Odysseus. But unlike Odysseus, Zamperini wasn't chosen by the gods. He was the youngest son of two Italian immigrants, an ordinary man who did some extraordinary things.