August 30th, 2011 
LeeAnn I recently finished reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. It is the true story of Louie Zamperini, an Olympic runner who became an Army Air Force bombardier in World War II. The book follows Louie through his extraordinary life.
Unbroken is well written and riveting. Ms. Hillenbrand wrote Seabiscuit as well – and clearly knows what she is doing. The incredible amount of research that went into this book is evident while reading it.
Despite this, I struggled to finish the book.
It was around chapter twenty-two that I almost quit. By that point, Mr. Zamperini had been through unbelievable horrors. He crashed into the ocean on a B-24 plane and was captured and placed into POW camps in Japan. The readers were taken through sharks throwing themselves at Louie when he was on a raft to horrible acts of cruelty inflicted against him by Japanese guards. It was wearing on me; it was mentally exhausting.
Everyone kept telling me that I had to keep going. And then I hit what was to me, almost, the final straw.
In one of the POW camps, there somehow came to be a duck that hung around the prisoners. It became a pet and the only positive in their otherwise lonely and brutal days. Recognizing this, one of the guards committed a vile act to the duck, and it died. “Of all of the things he witnessed in war, Louie would say, this was the worst.” If you read the book, you know that Louie witnessed true atrocities – multiple times daily.
I really wanted to throw the book off of my deck after reading this. It made me very angry – at everyone, really, including Ms. Hillenbrand (not a rational response, I know).
I didn’t quit though; I am stubborn enough that I persevered and completed the book. And I am glad that I did, as Mr. Zamperini (who is still alive) is very worth knowing.
But this act haunts me.
And my reaction has caused me to wonder about myself. Why does this upset me even more than the awful things that the guards did to the human prisoners?
Animals are so innocent and trusting. I know that acts of cruelty occur to animals often, but I cannot stand to hear about them. When the ASPCA or Humane Society commercials come on the tv, I rush to press mute or change the channel. The images stay with me. If I see an article about an act of animal cruelty, I throw the paper away without reading it.
I do not want to know that humans are capable of doing these things. Although I donate financially to the causes, I have avoided becoming otherwise involved, as I am afraid of what I will see.
One of my goals in writing this blog is to become more self analytical and challenge myself. In reading what I have written in this post, it strikes me as incredibly self-indulgent (and embarrassing) to turn away from known abuses because “it upsets me.” Maybe it is time to face my fears and become more active in these causes.
Mr. Zamperini did that, but on a much larger scale. After the war, Louie found God, which gave him the strength to move beyond his fears. He then worked to carry the messages of God to others in need, including even his former captors.
Maybe it is time for me to become involved and to give of myself.
So, while Unbroken almost broke me, it didn’t – and it may have made me stronger.
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The levels that war brings absolute savagery to a race or country at war is frightening. Even the most advanced and civilized cultures are brought to such monstrous heights. Or should I say lows? There is too little understanding, treatment and compassion for our returning vets today and this type of exposure about the transformation of the Japanese or Germans and even Americans into machines of unbelievable brutality must be understood. It may be about Louie but seems more about the ugly nature of humanity. I don’t read this stuff or even follow these sensational murder trials. I am already fearful of the criminals that plague Miami with their all too frequent drive-by shootings. Not for myself but for children and grandchildren.
Laura Hillenbrand’s introduction of Billy Graham into the story was ingenious.
I didn’t see that coming.
Many times we struggle to complete something at first when it is a difficult task and it takes a great deal of focus, especially if we lack within ourselves the time, commitment, or the true value of what that task requires of us to complete it. But in the end, like you, we come to a great understanding of the truth of what that task truly is, in your case, not just a book, but a true problem, or a true calling.
Everyone starts out with baby steps on their path of discovery toward their calling and what they can do to help that cause, and that can be the most frustrating part of it all. We all want to just jump right in and be recognized and do so much right away…but we can’t, but we have to recognize that even the little things we do help in little ways. Each little step gets you further and further along to where you want to be to do what it is that you want to do, and before you know it, you will be doing exactly what you want to be doing. I share your heartache for the abuse of animals and how people can be capable of doing such things to creatures who are innocent and have no understanding and no reason to be treated that way, and would love to do something about it. My way of helping has always been adopting rescue animals when we’ve decided to get pets, but there is a lot more that can be done beyond that.
My calling, however, has been to spread the word of Faith, and my frustration has been the ability to get it out there…those baby steps that make me feel like I’m getting nowhere. I have my blog…and so far, that’s it, it’s minimal at the moment…but it’s a starting point. When the time is right…I will get to the next step to further my cause to reach others…and so will you in your cause. Just pick a starting point, commit to it, be patient…and like you did with reading your book…don’t give up.
God bless and good luck.
LeeAnn, thanks for sharing about this book and your honest reaction to it. I’ve been on vacation and have looked forward to coming back to your blog posts. While away, I read a book that makes me think of you. It’s written by Suzanne Clothier, entitled: “If a Dog’s Prayers could be answered, Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening our Relationships with Dogs.” (It a long title!) Given your relationship with Gracie, I think you’d find it so interesting. And perhaps it will sow seeds for how and why you connect so strongly with animals. I suspect you are already living alot of what this book talks about, so I’m not recommending it as much for learning about how to improve your relationship with dogs, as I am for how to find your next step in using the strength of that relationship. I loved the book and found an entire new level of appreciation of the animal world through her lens. I have two sisters; none of us have kids but we’ve given my parents seven granddogs (many more over the years, that’s the current count) and I think we all have felt like you — that animals stir more emotion on similar things than we feel for humans. I’ve also wondered about this (as in: is something wrong with us???). Suzanne’s book helped me a lot in thinking about that. The timing of your post was ironic!