In this gripping book, Bear Grylls tells the stories of the adventurers, explorers, soldiers and spies whose refusal to quit in the most extreme situations has inspired him throughout his life. Some of them make for uncomfortable, yet unforgettable and remarkable reading, but as bear says – “survival is rarely pretty”. The tales of eye-watering bravery, death-defying resilience and extraordinary mental toughness by men and women is projected through every page of this book. 

The character I found most interesting was Nando Parrado. He is one of the sixteen Uruguayan survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed in the Andes mountains on 13 October 1972. After spending two months trapped in the mountains with the other crash survivors, he, along with Roberto Canessa, climbed through the Andes mountains over a 10-day period to find help. To me, his never say die attitude and resilience is extremely inspiring. Many people, when they hear the story of Nando Parrado and his companions, take away nothing but a grisly tale of cannibalism, some people even criticize them for the decision they made. I personally believe they are wrong. The survivors made a pact, that if any of them died, they would give permission for the others to eat their bodies. When eating the meat of their dead companions, I don’t think they were showing disregard for life, I think they were actually showing how precious it is, and how they were willing to do anything to cling to it while the environment threw everything it had at them. He showed remarkable courage and ingenuity, and refusal to lay down and lose. That’s what I found him to be so interesting. 

The message I took away from these stories is to never give up. Within the heart of any man or woman in possession of True Grit, is steel mental strength and determination of abounding proportions. Sometimes in life, we experience things difficult to understand, and it is only by having the courage and that resilience that we get through. The people in this book experienced horrors far worse than many of us will ever see, but their never say die attitude is something we can all learn from. To keep going, to keep hopeful, to never quit – are lessons in life that all of us need to know, and as bear says – “We all need examples and inspirations in our lives, to make us better and stronger”. We all have our own personal mountains to climb, and it helps at times to gain positive empowerment from stories like these.

Nando had to face a variety of difficult challenges throughout the book. Ranging from eating the meat of his dead companions, staying warm for months in the harsh nights, and what I believe to be most amazing was actually climbing the tallest peaks – with no safety equipment or oxygen. He and a friend followed the glacier up to the mountain’s lower slopes, and they knew what risks they were facing. Their bodies were ravaged, and they had no mountaineering skills whatsoever: Instead of making his way up a gentle saddle to the south, they set off straight up the mountain’s steepest slopes. They became extremely sick due to the altitude, and how high they were rising, but they pushed on. And on December 20, 1972, their ninth day of trekking, Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa stumbled upon a shepherd’s camp in the Chilean region of Los Maitenes. Two days later, Nando led helicopters to the 14 remaining survivors.

The book produced by Bear Grylls is inspired by multiple, undeniably enthralling and inspiring people, that faced raw and gritty challenges throughout parts of their lives. Within the heart of any man or woman in possession of True Grit, is steel mental strength and determination of abounding proportions. Every person within every one of these stories showed these attributes and refused to lay down and die. This is why I believe the title ‘True Grit’ is perfect for this book.

I would recommend this to all ages as I believe normal people like us can take away lessons and learn new things by reading this. their attitude is definitely something we can all learn from. To keep going, to keep hopeful, to never quit. We all need examples and inspirations in our lives, to make us better and stronger, and it helps at times to gain positive empowerment from stories like these.