Our first book for 2020 is Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane, which I read last summer (and I actually remember quite well, I was very gripped by that particular story); so I started off by reading the second book on the list (which we will be discussing in April): Into the Abyss by Carol Shaben.
*WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!*
While this wasn't a book I voted for, I was still very interested in reading it. First of all, it's a true Canadian story, which intrigued me off the bat. And the tagline: "How a deadly plane crash changed the lives of a pilot, a politiican, a criminal, and a cop"... doesn't that just suck you in?? It sure did for me.
This novel was written by Carol Shaben, and recounts the true story of a plane crash that occurred in Northern Alberta in 1984. Carol's father, Larry Shaben, was a prominent Albertan politician at the time - and yes, he was the politician who survived the crash. The other survivors included the pilot, Erik Vogel, an RCMP officer named Scott Deschamps, and the criminal he was escorting, a drifter named Paul Archambault. There were six other passengers aboard the plane who did not survive, including then leader of Alberta's New Democratic Party, Grant Notley. Carol was working as a journalist in the middle east at the time and learned of her father's plane crash in a small news item in the Jerusalem Post. Twenty-eight years later, she published the story how her father and the other three survivors made it through that long cold night, and how their lives were impacted by this catastrophic event.
In her telling of this tale, Ms. Shaben weaves together the threads of all four of the survivors - what brought them to that fateful day and why each of them were on that plane. She recounts the harrowing night they spent alone, injured, and fighting to stay alive in the deep snowy cold of the Northern Albertan bush they crashed into. Then, she follows them after the crash, through the inquisitions and court proceedings, and on into the rest of their lives, to show each of them were changed or impacted by the crash for years to come. She takes a journalistic approach, as she has clearly spent time interviewing them, their loved ones, taking bits and pieces and tying them all together to create this epic story of survival.
There were parts of the book I really got sucked into and couldn't put it down, as I learned of the survivors lives and in particular the chapters following the crash and the attempts at rescuing them. Others fell flat, or were boring. For me, the detailed chapters on Erik Vogel's flight training, and explanations on how flight instruments, patterns, and how airplanes work in general, were chapters I skimmed quickly because it was all over my head.
I was particularly intrigued to read about the criminal, Paul Archambault. Very early on in the narrative, the author reveals that Paul, while a drifter and small-time criminal at the time of the crash, was originally from Aylmer, Quebec. I live about a half an hour away from Aylmer, so that instantly caught my attention. Paul's story in particular stood out throughout the book, as he truly seemed like a good-hearted guy whose life had fallen off the rails. He was named a hero by Larry Shaben in the wake of the crash, as he was the least injured of the survivors and spent the night working to keep them alive. He scrounged through the strewn items from the plane to find clothing to keep them warm and items to help with their survival, he started a fire, and he made many trips into the dense bush for fire wood. When there was nothing more he could do, he told jokes and stories to try and keep them awake and alert.
It would seem that in the aftermath of the crash, Paul's life stood the greatest chance of being impacted in a positive way. He was the recipient of an award for his heroic efforts that night, he made headlines across the country, he was acquitted from his crimes at the time, and seemed to be given every opportunity to make something of himself. Unfortunately, while Paul did enjoy some great days in the sun basking in the glow of being a hero, he once again fell off the rails several years later. The sad end to his story was probably, for me, the most heart-breaking part of this whole tale. I really became invested in Paul's story and rooted for him.
Overall, I was glad I read the book and was quite interested in learning about this little piece of Canadian history that I had never heard about before. I was only a year old when the plane crashed in 1984, and while the book says the crash made headlines from coast-to-coast at the time, even my mother doesn't seem to have any recollections of it. I asked if he remembered the name Grant Notley, as he seemed to be the most famous person in the crash, and she said, "No. Was he Rachel Notley's father?" (He was. Rachel Notley is now the leader of the NDP in Alberta, following in her father's footsteps.) Granted, my family has never been super into politics, so what was going on in Alberta's political landscape in the '80's might not come quickly to mind for my mom 35 years later.
Of course, the eerie coincidence of me reading this book when I did hit me squarely as I was still reflecting upon it this past weekend. I finished the last chapter after midnight, so in the very early hours of the morning on Sunday, January 26th. I set the book down and went to sleep. I awoke that morning, went to church, had lunch with family members, went sliding with my brother and his kids, and then went home mid-afternoon. The first thing I heard upon arriving home was that the helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven other people had crashed in Calabasas, killing everyone on board. That's a blog post all on its own, so I won't delve into my thoughts and feelings about it now, but it sent shivers down my spine to think about it, especially with the echoes of this books still reverberating through my mind at that time.
I think it will be awhile before I'll have the desire to fly again...
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