When I Fell From the Sky

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0983754705 ISBN 13: 9780983754701

Publisher: Titletown Publishing, LLC, 2011

She was 17-years-old on a Christmas Eve flight 40 years ago to join her father for Christmas when the unimaginable happened. The Lockheed L-188A Electra, on the way from Lima to Pucallpa, flew directly into a thunderstorm. A strike of lightning left the plane incinerated and Juliane Diller (Koepcke) still strapped to her plane seat falling through the night air two miles above the Earth. Her survival is unexplainable and considered a modern day miracle. Her mother was among the 91 dead and Juliane the sole survivor. For 11 days she crawled and walked alone through the jungle, fighting for her survival again with hunger and despair her only companions as maggots ate their way into her wounds. Juliane ultimately survives and goes on to live an inspiring life as a scientist continually drawn back to the terrain that threatened to take her. On the 40th anniversary, she shares not only the private moments of her survival and rescue but her life in the wake of the dramatic true story. 

From the Author:

Juliane Koepcke has gone on to devote her life to preserving the rain forest that caught and then saved her. Her story is one of miraculous and epic survival, as well as a “green”-inspired book that will leave all with a renewed respect and appreciation for the environment and our role in it. 

Review:

The teenage survivor was presumed dead and survived for 11 days in the rain forest following a lightning strike that incinerated her plane Christmas Eve. International Bestseller since the Germany release in April 2011. Top 10 Spiegel Bestseller List. Garson & Wright Public Relations launching national publicity campaign including television and print media. World survivor who fell from two miles above the Earth while strapped to her airplane seat and conscious for initial descent. Frequently sought by the media since her 1971 miracle survival, this book is her first full recount of her experience and the years that followed. --Amazon

When I Fell From the Sky: The True Story of One Woman's Miraculous Survival. Juliane Koepcke, with Beate Rygiert, translated from the German by Ross Benjamin. Titletown Publishing, $22.95 On Christmas Eve, 1971, 17-year-old Koepcke and her mother were flying from Lima to Pucallpa when their plane was struck by lightning during a freak storm. Catapulted from the plane two miles above the Peruvian rain forest, she landed in the jungle and miraculously survived. After regaining consciousness, she found herself alone and hurt, with a broken collarbone and a gash in her leg. Having spent a few years in the jungle during her youth, she was able to use the knowledge she had accumulated to survive, and, after an 11-day trek, she stumbled into the camp of three forest workers and was saved. Koepcke later followed in her parents' footsteps to become a zoologist, dedicating her life to realizing their dream of creating a nature preserve in Panguana. Her memoir is a gripping account of a harrowing adventure and an inspiring life." --(Nov.) PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

When I Fell From the Sky: The True Story of One Woman's Miraculous Survival Juliane Koepcke, with Beate Rygiert, translated from the German by Ross Benjamin. Titletown Publishing, $22.95 (227p) On Christmas Eve, 1971, 17-year-old Koepcke and her mother were flying from Lima to Pucallpa when their plane was struck by lightning during a freak storm. Catapulted from the plane two miles above the Peruvian rain forest, she landed in the jungle and miraculously survived. After regaining consciousness, she found herself alone and hurt, with a broken collarbone and a gash in her leg. Having spent a few years in the jungle during her youth, she was able to use the knowledge she had accumulated to survive, and, after an 11-day trek, she stumbled into the camp of three forest workers and was saved. Koepcke later followed in her parents' footsteps to become a zoologist, dedicating her life to realizing their dream of creating a nature preserve in Panguana. Her memoir is a gripping account of a harrowing adventure and an inspiring life. --(Nov.) PUBLISHERS WEEKLY