Eduardo Strauch is the author of the memoir Out of the Silence: After the Crash, which focuses on his experience of surviving a 1972 plane crash in the Andes. He is an architect and painter, and he lives in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Q: Why did you decide to write this memoir so many years
after your experiences in the 1972 plane crash?
A: Out of the Silence is the English version of the book Desde
el Silencio, which was published in 2012 in Uruguay, my home country, and also
in Spain, in which I re-live my experience with new eyes, the perspective
attained in the decades since. I felt I had the need to convey and to share so
many things I have learned from that time on the mountain.
It was clearly important to my own identity as well as the
legacy I wanted to leave behind. I am fully aware that it was a two-year
process that culminated in a self-therapy. I never required the assistance of
professionals; however, writing has represented a very positive catharsis 40
years later.
Q: How do you think your experiences in 1972 changed your
life?
A: I believe that the Andes experience did not change my
real essence. Notwithstanding, it enriched every aspect in my life. This is
what I have come to understand: Nothing is certain, but anything is possible.
As soon as we learned that the search had been called off,
the idea of getting out of the mountains by means of our own efforts arose as
our only hope, and we managed to survive for 72 days. Releasing the human
capacities, mental, physical and emotional was the key element. It was the
opportunity for true awareness of that reality. I saw clearly for myself the
big and real things of this world.
Knowing the priorities helps us to have a full and happy
life.
Q: Did you need to do additional research to write the book,
or was it all from your memories of the crash and its aftermath?
A: After searching for someone who could help me express my
thoughts and feelings , I found a professional writer, Mireya Soriano, who
already knew the story well, and we found that we were in perfect harmony. This
allowed a close collaboration between us, examining my intense experiences
through many different lenses. She helped me during the whole process, allowing
me to conclude with reflections by posing a number of questions.
I did not need to do additional research. I just went deep
into my mind, diving into my memories, contrasting my life before and after the
accident.
Q: What do you hope people take away from the book?
A: The story of the accident and the events which followed
are woven throughout 15 chapters. The ordeal of the past is transformed in the
telling into a shared and universal knowledge applicable to any life situation.
In this way, this book preserves the story’s development and appeals to the
inner world of each reader, promoting a space for reflection.
I hope the reader will be able to look at the story and take
away the central place human values have, and find an approach for overcoming
difficulties and adversity. Since the book shows the incredible things
achievable by the human spirit, it also may provide people a look at society
and the human capacity to organize under the worst circumstances.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: For almost 50 years I have been dedicated to
architecture, and I still am. I frequently travel to different parts of the
world giving conferences to share my experience. I also paint, inspired by the
singular experience that touched my life and the landscapes that touch me
during my trips.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: The book was ready to be published. That’s when I was
really afraid thinking that I had opened my heart and exposed my feelings. Too
late to regret. I started to receive very positive and favorable comments by
the readers at last! Hence, the desired results of overflowing with the joy of
sharing my life with others.
It was only natural that people started to ask me if I would
write a second book. “So far there are no plans” seems to be my natural reply.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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