My Thoughts

I liked this book a lot. I think the author told the story of his life very well, talking a lot about his running career. The author drew me into the book with the crash of the airplane.  She knew the whole story and explained what they did to pass the time in such a way that you felt you were on the raft with them.  Her writing style kept me interested and the way she ended each chapter made you want to start reading the next one.

Louie's story was very inspirational because he had to fight to survive through so many different situations.  Life was never easy for Louie from the start.  He had gifts that he had been given that he didn't always recognize.  In the end, when he finds God and forgiveness in his life, you know that God was watching out for him even in his darkest moments.

Epilogue

Louie ended up opening a nonprofit boys came called Victory Boys Camp in 1954.  His vision was to help boys who were troubled like he was at their age and give them a sense of purpose.  Louie remained active and a positive person throughout the rest of his life, learning how to skateboard in his 80's.  Phil who he had lived through such horrors with went on to become a teacher and have two children.  The Bird, who Louie had thought had committed suicide, resurfaced from hiding in Japan when the arrest warrants for war time prison guards were lifted.  The Bird went on to marry, and become a successful businessman in Tokoyo.  When Louie heard that Watanabe was still alive he wanted to see him.  Louie had been asked to carry the Olympic Torch in Japan in 1998 and he wanted to meet with Watanabe to offer forgiveness.  He wrote him a letter in advance.  The meeting never took place, but it is possible the letter reached Watanabe.  Watanabe died in 2003.

Chapter 39: Daybreak

Louie eventually traveled back to Japan to the Sugamo Prison where his old guards were to make peace with himself and them. He couldn't find the Bird, though. He asked some of the officials at the prison where he was, and they said that the government had been looking for him all over Japan, but he apparently he had killed himself. Louie felt some compassion for the guard, as well as The Bird because in the end, The Bird was just another man. "In bewilderment, the men who abused him watched him come to them, his hands extended, a radiant smile on his face."  This trip was filled with forgiveness and a sense that the war was really over for Louie.

Chapter 38: A Beckoning Whistle

Louie's wife Cynthia changed her mind about divorcing Louie after listening to a preacher named Billy Graham. She had a religious awakening and encouraged Louie to come hear Graham speak.  Louie listened to Graham speak one day and what Graham was saying about God started to reach him.  On the second day he went to hear Graham speak, he also had a religious awakening that changed his life.  He no longer had nightmares about The Bird and he threw away all of his alcohol.

Chapter 37:Twisted Ropes

Louie became obsessed with drinking to help him forget the horrors of the war. He also continued to invest money into failed ventures.  His wife and he fought constantly, and once Louie awoke in the middle of the night having a nightmare about The Bird and found himself choking his wife. Cynthia and Louie had a child named Cynthia two weeks after Christmas in 1948. Shortly afterwards, with Louie's drinking continuing, Cynthia filed for divorce.

Chapter 36: The Body on the Mountain

Many of the terrible Japanese guards were taken to prison, but the Japanese government was never able to catch the Bird. He alluded his captors for many years. There were many different reports that The Bird had committed suicide.

Chapter 35: Coming Undone

The more time Louie spent in America, the angrier he got. His memories of the torture and the plane crash haunted him daily. Louie started giving a lot of speeches around the country about his ordeal. He started to run again, but his bad leg gave him trouble. One day, he was getting back to good speed, but he reinjured his leg. He had to stop his training. Louie talked to one of his old friends in the army who said they knew the whereabouts of the Bird. Louie wanted to kill Watanabe and could think of nothing else.