Chosen To Live by Jerry Schemmel
Introduction
I believe that everyone falls into one of two groups. The first group is the one whose members have had a tragedy happen to them. The second is the one that will. I’m a member of group one.
On July 19, 1989, I boarded a plane that originated in Denver and bound for Chicago. About halfway there, at 37,000 feet and over northwest Iowa, the number two engine in the DC-10 that 296 of us were traveling in, exploded. The damage to the plane was immense and forced the cockpit crew to attempt an emergency landing in Sioux City, Iowa. With the crew having so little control of the aircraft, we hit down, flipped over, and eventually came to a halt in a cornfield adjacent to the airport. The tragedy took the lives of 112 people, including my boss and great friend, as well as almost everyone sitting around me.
For a long time, I resisted the urgings to write a book about the crash. I simply didn’t care to re-visit or re-live the horrible event. Then, about six years after the crash, I decided that I had message I wanted to send. I wanted to tell others that they can move through and past tragedies and although the pain from them will never completely go away, they can still live a full life and reach goals and achieve dreams. I wanted people to know that they can move from tragedy to triumph. I believe God allows us to be knocked down so that he can pick us back up – and that if we let him, he’ll make us better than we were before.
So I wrote Chosen To Live. I hope you enjoy it!
