The Trees, the Trees and the Forest

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"The thud was sismic. The tree must have been about 80 feet tall and perhaps two feet in diameter." "I scrambled out over the creek, running across the tree that had just fallen,. shouting john's name," he said. He did not know he'd been hit by a falling tree. It had narrowly missed his head, struck his left shoulder, shearing it from his collar bone and breaking many of his ribs"'We were ancy. We up three or four hours later. The rain and wind no longer felt ferocious, but were still too gnarly to paddle through'

It was meant to mark the start of their lives out of college, but the adventure quickly turned into a nightmare. Beginning with what seemed to be a lucky whale sighting, three friends set out on a sea-kayaking trip through Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska, watching out for bears, and having a good time, when tragedy struck.

In recounting the days preceding and following the accident, which seriously injured one of his friends, the Times journalist Jon Mooallem explains how he was forced to reckon with his fears. Detailing the incident’s surprising repercussions, he muses on the importance of overcoming one’s fears, and finding poetry in life’s darkest moments.

This story was written by Jon Mooallem. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.