Buried Alive!: Life Lessons from the Bottom of a Grain Bin

What goes through your mind when you're buried alive for hours before you die? On a Wednesday in June 2013, Arick Baker finds the answer when he climbs into one of the enormous grain bins that dot the Iowa landscape and is swallowed by 25,000 bushels of corn. Miraculously, he beats the odds and survives. For hours, four brave volunteer rescue workers toil inside the bin while more than 120 volunteers from across the state labor outside the bin trying to dig Arick out. This book takes you into the mind of Arick as he is being squeezed to death by hundreds of pounds of corn. Arick is a self-professed “smart ass,” an attribute that comes to his rescue as he battles with fatigue, pain, and hopelessness. He hilariously recounts childhood incidents that motivate him to keep trying. Concurrently, Arick’s mother is outside the grain bin trying to cope with the ultimate grief -- losing a child. This unbelievable, unforgettable memoir will take you on an emotional roller coaster of grief, humor, acceptance, and ultimately inspiration. This suspenseful tale of survival against insurmountable odds will open your eyes to how we can derive strength from our worst experiences, how we can quit judging ourselves and other, and how all of us can use painful lessons to enrich our own lives and the lives of all those we touch.