Savvy-Suz

This book was a trek into human love, courage, fear, strength, and coping in the face of a bleak landscape of loss and being lost in the middle of nowhere with no one knowing what a heavy cross fate has just dealt two wonderful people... (and a little spunky dog!).

Ben and Ashley met at the airport and when their flights were cancelled, they ended up together on a small private charter jet to avoid spending another day away from home. Ashley was about to be married and had plans with her bridesmaids the next day. Ben was a surgeon with a few operations awaiting him. They were both anxious to be off before the weather completely closed down the airport.

The pilot, Grover, was a seasoned veteran with a very skilled background and plenty of safety gear and extras on-board.

Everything was looking bright and they settled in with light conversation.
The pilot was relaxed and jovial, but when a suspicious cough started up as he was leveling his airplane off over mountains in a remote area, Dr Ben became concerned.
And then the concern became a nightmare when it was clear that the pilot's heart was failing.
He bravely fought to stabilize and land his craft to save them from a fiery crash.

Experienced skill in the throes of his heart attack saves the lives of Ben and Ashley and the little dog, but sadly Grover lies still in what remains of the plane.

It's a very long and arduous trek fraught with many hardships and dangers and I should stop here to avoid any real spoilers!
Suffice it to say, the read is worth the struggle interspersed with moments of joy and humor peppered lightly in the dialogue.
Mostly, it's about the human heart, the will to live, to love, and to find the light at the end of the tunnel.

“Once a heart breaks…it doesn’t just grow back. It’s not a lizard’s tail. It’s more like a huge stained glass that shattered into a million pieces, and it’s not going back together. Least not the way it was. You can mush it all into one piece, but that doesn’t make it a window. That makes it a pile of broken colored glass. Shattered hearts don’t mend and they don’t heal. They just don’t work that way.” —

Read it and hug those that you love a little tighter and be gentle with your words...

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but if you want to hurt someone...way down deep, use words.”