"No, I'm not talking about the weekend at the lake."
Most scholars believe that the first book of the bible ever written was Job. Job is a story of a man who lived a good life, then shit happened and he was in hell, then he came back. For some reason, we're fascinated with these kinds of stories, and have been for a long, long time.
This weekend, I read another one. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, is the story of an Olympic champion turned bombardier, shot down, marooned at sea, captured by the Japanese and held as a POW until the end of the war, came home and became an alcoholic, lost about everything and by God's grace made it back. Another example of the trip to hell and back.
My personal favorite is The Shawshank Redemption, mainly because is has so many good quotes in it. There are a zillion and four of these stories out there, and we love each one. For some reason, they inspire us and encourage us in our own hells. They remind us that our lives are overall pretty good by comparison, and we don't really have too much to complain about. They teach us that even the worst obstacles can be overcome with endurance, providence and luck.
Unbroken is particularly good because it is an absolutely true story, not historical fiction. The writer tells the story as a novel, but documents each scene with pictures, statistics, research and commentary. History is always easier to read when presented as a story, and an authentic story that ends well is unbeatable.
There are many WWII stories that end well like this one. But there are many times as many that don't. Japan was especially cruel to POW's and captured civilians, much moreso than Germany or Italy. Many thousands were needlessly and terribly slaughtered. Many POW's that survived the war itself never really made it back from hell. Their lives continued to reflect the abuse after their return. But the stories that get written are the ones with a happy ending, like Job, Andy Dufrense and Louis Zamperini.
A lot of people take that trip to hell - maybe not on the scale of Louis Zamperini, but in the contexts of their lives, it is hell.
Some never come back. They stay there as if they're doomed to it, or they have no place else to go. They resign themselves to it, and somehow it becomes their reality. They learn to be content there, and make the best life they can. What did Red say about the walls?
Some fare even worse. They become part of hell itself. I know one guy that had to crawl through the 500 yards of unimaginable filth but became indistinguishable from the shit.
And some, like Zamperini, make it back. Thank God for Job and all of those whose stories teach, inspire and encourage us. I wish that nobody would ever have to go to hell. But since they do, I'm really glad that some of them make it back to tell us their stories.