When I Fell From the Sky: The True Story of One Woman’s Miraculous Survival

218 Pages·2011·3.32 MB·English

by  Juliane Koepcke. Beate Rygiert

WHEN I FELL FROM THE SKY
The True Story of One Woman’s Miraculous Survival
WHEN I FELL FROM THE SKY
The True Story of One Woman’s Miraculous Survival
BY JULIANE KOEPCKE
IN COLLABORATION WITH BEATE RYGIERT
TRANSLATED BY ROSS BENJAMIN
WHEN I FELL FROM THE SKY
The True Story of One Woman’s Miraculous Survival
Written by Juliane Koepcke
In Collaboration with Beate Rygiert
Translated by Ross Benjamin
Copyright © 2011 Juliane Koepcke and Piper Verlag, Munich
English Translation Copyright © 2011 Ross Benjamin
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in whole or in
part, by any means whatsoever, except for passages excerpted for the purposes
of review, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information,
or to order additional copies, please contact:
TitleTown Publishing, LLC
P.O. Box 12093 Green Bay, WI 54307-12093 920.737.8051 |
titletownpublishing.com
North American Editor: Stephanie Finnegan
Production Associate: Martin Lederman
Cover Design: Dale Fiorillo
Interior Layout and Design: Erika L. Block
PUBLISHER’S CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA:
Koepcke, Juliane.
When I fell from the sky : the true story of one woman’s miraculous survival /
Juliane Koepcke ; in collaboration with Beate Rygiert ; translated by Ross
Benjamin. 1st English ed. -- Green Bay, Wis. : TitleTown Publishing, c2011.
p. ; cm.
ISBN: 978-0-9837547-0-1
Translation of: Als ich vom Himmel fiel : wie mir der Dschungel mein Leben
zurückgab (Munich : Malik, 2011; 9783890293899).
Includes index.
Summary: Describes the 11-day ordeal faced by the 17-year old sole survivor of
an
airplane crash in the Peruvian jungle in 1971.
1. Koepcke, Juliane. 2. Airplane crash survival--Peru--Personal narratives. 3.
Aircraft accidents--Peru--Personal narratives. I. Rygiert, Beate. II. Benjamin,
Ross. III. Title: Als ich vom Himmel fiel.
TL553.9 .K6413 2011
1110
363.1/248092--dc23
Printed in the USA
first edition printed on recycled paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For my mother, who dedicated her short life to the birds of Peru, and who was
torn much too soon from my side.
CONTENTS
CHRISTMAS EVE, 1971
CHAPTER 1: MY NEW LIFE
CHAPTER 2: A CHILDHOOD AMONG ANIMALS
CHAPTER 3: WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT LIFE FROM MY FATHER
CHAPTER 4: MY LIFE IN TWO WORLDS
CHAPTER 5: HOW I BECAME A JUNGLE GIRL
CHAPTER 6: THE CRASH
CHAPTER 7: ALONE IN THE JUNGLE
CHAPTER 8: PUCALLPA TODAY
CHAPTER 9: THE LARGE RIVER
CHAPTER 10: THE RETURN
CHAPTER 11: ONE SURVIVED!
CHAPTER 12: GREETINGS FROM THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT
CHAPTER 13: TERRIBLE CERTAINTY, AGONIZING UNCERTAINTY
CHAPTER 14: NOTHING IS THE SAME AS IT WAS
CHAPTER 15: HOMECOMING TO A FOREIGN COUNTRY
CHAPTER 16: MIRACLES STILL HAPPEN
CHAPTER 17: A REUNION AND A RETURN
CHAPTER 18: THE SECRET SOUL OF THE FOREST
CHAPTER 19: KEEPING AN EYE FIXED ON THE FUTURE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INDEX
She did not leave the airplane, the airplane left her.
—Werner Herzog, director and producer
He was the first person I saw, and it was as if an angel were coming toward me.
—Juliane Koepcke, describing her rescuer in
the Wings of Hope documentary