I Had to Survive, Dr. Roberto Canessa
I Had to Survive, Dr. Roberto Canessa
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I Had to Survive
How a Plane Crash in the Andes Inspired My Calling to Save Lives

Author: Dr. Roberto Canessa, Pablo Vierci, Carlos Frías

Narrator: various narrators, Thom Rivera, Traber Burns, Elijah Alexander, Neil Shah, Hillary Huber, Kyla Garcia, Tavia Gilbert, Emily Woo Zeller

Unabridged: 8 hr 31 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/01/2016


Synopsis

On October 13, 1972, a Uruguayan Air Force plane carrying members of the “Old Christians” rugby team—and many of their friends and family members—crashed into the Andes Mountains. I Had to Survive offers a gripping and heartrending recollection of the harrowing brink-of-death experience that propelled survivor Roberto Canessa to become one of the world’s leading pediatric cardiologists.As he tended to his wounded teammates amid the devastating carnage of the wreck, rugby player Roberto Canessa, a second-year medical student at the time, realized that no one on earth was luckier: he was alive—and for that, he should be eternally grateful. As the starving group struggled beyond the limits of what seemed possible, Canessa played a key role in safeguarding his fellow survivors, eventually trekking with a companion across the hostile mountain range for help.This fine line between life and death became the catalyst for the rest of his life.This uplifting tale of hope and determination, solidarity and ingenuity gives vivid insight into a world-famous story. Canessa also draws a unique and fascinating parallel between his work as a doctor performing arduous heart surgeries on infants and unborn babies and the difficult life-changing decisions he was forced to make in the Andes. With grace and humanity, Canessa prompts us to ask ourselves, what do you do when all the odds are stacked against you?

About Dr. Roberto Canessa

Dr. Roberto Canessa made history in December of 1972 for being one of sixteen young rugby players who endured months of severe cold, injuries, starvation, and isolation after their plane crashed into the snowcapped Andes—an event that inspired the film Alive. He is a pediatric cardiologist at the Italian Hospital of Montevideo and recognized worldwide for his work, particularly with newborn patients and patients in utero.

About Pablo Vierci

Pablo Vierci is an award-winning author and scriptwriter and a native of Montevideo, Uruguay. He is also an Italian citizen.

About Traber Burns

Traber Burns worked for thirty-five years in regional theater, including the New York, Oregon, and Alabama Shakespeare festivals. He also spent five years in Los Angeles appearing in many television productions and commercials, including Lost, Close to Home, Without a Trace, Boston Legal, Grey’s Anatomy, Cold Case, Gilmore Girls, and others.

About Elijah Alexander

Elijah Alexander has worked professionally as an actor for over fifteen years. He has worked and lived in New York, where he performed in numerous productions, including the Tony Award–winning play Metamorphoses. He worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company for two years and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for two seasons, as well as regionally at various other theaters. In Los Angeles, he has worked on critically acclaimed productions of Sleuth, produced by Garry Marshall, and other works. His film and television credits include Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Emily’s Reasons Why Not, JAG, Summerland, So NoTORIous, and Guiding Light. He was the voice of Vayne Solidor in Final Fantasy XII and has done several commercial voiceovers. He is currently the voice of Kenmore and has narrated more than ten audiobooks, including James Jones’ acclaimed novel From Here to Eternity.

About Neil Shah

Neil Shah is an Audie-nominated and multi AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator who has recorded over 250 audiobooks spanning across almost every genre, as well as numerous long-form journalism articles. AudioFile magazine has commended him for “an absolutely mesmerizing listening experience” and as “an outstanding narrator who adds a healthy dose of personality to each of the characters.” As a classically trained actor, he has appeared off Broadway and on regional stages, as well as in film and television. He records from his home studio in Oregon’s beautiful Wine Country.

About Hillary Huber

Hillary Huber is one of the most successful voice talents in Los Angeles. Recent books read for Blackstone Audio include Him, Her, Him Again, the End of Him by Patricia Marx, A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read, and A Map of Glass by Jane Urquhart.

About Kyla Garcia

Kyla Garcia is an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator. Born and raised in Hoboken, New Jersey, she discovered acting at the age of eight when she played Lady Macbeth in a children’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy. She made her off-Broadway debut at fifteen when she played Dorothy in Oz: A Twisted Musical. Eleven years after she discovered her passion for acting, she would go on to play Lady Macbeth once again in London at the Globe Theatre, where she studied Shakespeare during her third year at Mason Gross School of the Arts. She received her BFA in acting from Rutgers University.

About Tavia Gilbert

Tavia Gilbert is an acclaimed narrator of more than four hundred full-cast and multivoice audiobooks for virtually every publisher in the industry. Named the 2018 Voice of Choice by Booklist magazine, she is also winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She has earned numerous Earphones Awards, a Voice Arts Award, and a Listen-Up Award. Audible.com has named her a Genre-Defining Narrator: Master of Memoir. In addition to voice acting, she is an accomplished producer, singer, and theater actor. She is also a producer, singer, photographer, and a writer, as well as the cofounder of a feminist publishing company, Animal Mineral.

About Emily Woo Zeller

Emily Woo Zeller is an Audie and Earphones Award–winning narrator, voice-over artist, actor, dancer, and choreographer. AudioFile magazine named her one of the Best Voices of 2013. Her voice-over career includes work in animated film and television in Southeast Asia.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Glen on August 29, 2017

I really enjoyed the historical first hand account of their tragedy and rescue in the Andes, but I found the second half of the book and his Medical profession a little dull. I'd say the first half of the book is 4 star, the second half is 2 star.......more

Goodreads review by Jimmy on April 05, 2020

Un libro que te enseña lo maravilloso que es la vida, a pesar de las dificultades, esas mismas que son las que te motivan a seguir y a luchar por tus sueños......more

Goodreads review by Fishface on February 13, 2024

I can't recommend this one too warmly. Beautifully written, thoughtfully presented, impossible to put down. There was a bit of a contradiction between Canessa protesting that he's just an ordinary schmo and all his patients' parents saying he's God's gift to humanity, but that's only a quibble. For......more

Goodreads review by dontpanic on August 26, 2020

Vannak trigger ételek, amik nem kívánatos reakciókat tudnak beindítani azoknál, akiknek problémái vannak az evéssel. Például, ha egy bizonyos ételből eszik az illető, nem tudja már leállítani a falásrohamot. Nos, nekem az 1972-es uruguayi rögbicsapat repülőgépszerencsétlensége ilyen trigger, mert ha......more


Quotes

“In this inspirational book, [Canessa] recounts in breathtaking detail his harrowing journey across a harsh, uninhabited region of the Andes with fellow crash survivor Fernando Parrado to find help. Canessa references the life-and-death decisions…that prepared him to become the most delicate of doctors…Makes for riveting reading.” Publishers Weekly

“A world-famous pediatric cardiologist tells how surviving a plane crash in the high Andes led to a lifelong commitment to helping children overcome congenital heart defects…What makes this gripping narrative especially poignant is the way the author intercuts the memories of his experiences with the stories of those who lived through this ordeal with him, as well as those of the children he eventually helped as a doctor…Readably inspiring from beginning to end.” Kirkus Reviews