Surviving Hell. Leo Thorsness

      Praise for Surviving Hell

      This book is both an authentic look at the POW experience and also an often amusing account of one man’s way of coping with a brutal captivity. Leo Thorsness, my friend and fellow alumnus of the Hanoi Hilton, shows why the North Vietnamese may have had our bodies but never controlled our soul.

       —Sen. John McCain

      Our nation’s Medal of Honor recipients are the ultimate heroes among us, but the members of this elite fraternity have their own heroes, and Leo Thorsness is one of them. Taken to the edge of human existence, he came back with his dignity intact. Leo emerged from the darkness of his brutal confinement in Hanoi because he was armed with a keen intellect, unbreakable mental discipline, and the love of family.

      Surviving Hell is a story for all those who think life’s challenges are unbearable. What happened to Leo seems like too much for any human to bear, yet he survived and thrived—the ultimate revenge on his captors. In this gripping and harrowing book, Thorsness offers timeless lessons on perseverance, mental focus, and old-fashioned patriotism.

      —Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor, NBC Nightly News; director, Medal of Honor Foundation Board

      In business as in life, the essential building blocks of leadership are character, courage, faith, and loyalty. Leo Thorsness tells a riveting story that speaks of these values with eloquence and uncommon humility. The lessons of this book apply to all those who must confront adversity or meet challenging demands by doing the right thing. It is an uplifting and inspiring guide that should be required reading for leaders everywhere.

      —Robert J. Stevens, chairman, president, and CEO, Lockheed Martin Corporation

      In my career as an actor I have had the opportunity to portray a few fictional war heroes. It is my pleasure to know a real war hero, Leo Thorsness. As a Wild Weasel fighter pilot in Vietnam, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for a mission he flew shortly before being shot down. He spent six years in the brutal Hanoi Hilton as a POW. Surviving Hell tells it like it was in combat and in prison, but the story is also uplifting and helpful for anyone going through tough times. Leo is a survivor who shows us that, even in hell, we are much stronger than we think.

       —Gary Sinise, actor

      For three years I lived in cells with or near Leo Thorsness at the Hanoi Hilton, and I vouch for his account of captivity in that hellhole.

      It was especially bad for Leo because his back was fractured from torture, which required him to be strung up by the feet to sleep. Yet in our many POW conversations, we were optimistic that we would someday be free and upbeat about how we would use our freedom. The most important thing was to return home with honor; and that, Leo has certainly done.

      —Col. Bud Day, USAF (ret.); Medal of Honor recipient; fellow POW with Leo Thorsness; author of Return With Honor

      In a brisk and vivid style, Leo Thorsness transports us into the darkness of the POW’s world without ever succumbing to despair. His story is a saga of uncommon valor, told with humility and good humor.

      I first met this extraordinary American hero—who cleverly disguises himself as “just another guy”—on the set of The Hanoi Hilton, where he served as my technical advisor and became my friend. To watch Leo relive his experiences with those who would portray him and his comrades-in-arms was an inspiration to us all. Now, in Surviving Hell, he makes that journey accessible to everyone in a way that brings hope.

      Freedom is certainly not free, and here’s a chance to understand why some people are willing to pay the price, yet never lose their humanity.

      —Lionel Chetwynd, filmmaker; Oscar and Emmy nominee; writer and director of The Hanoi Hilton

      How can a simple man have so much to say to every reader? Leo