Alfa Foxtrot 586, a P-3 Orion turboprop, was conducting a sensitive Cold War mission off the Kamchatka Peninsula on October 26, 1978, when a propeller malfunction turned into four engine fires and the pilot - Loreen Grigsby's husband, Jerry - was forced to ditch into remote, mountainous seas churned by a frigid North Pacific storm. The aircraft sank within ninety seconds, taking one of the three rafts with it - which left thirteen men to huddle together in the remaining two rafts, the smaller of which soon began to leak. Told from Loreen's perspective as a navy wife at home as well as through the eyes of the men who survived the disaster, All Eternity Lies Before Me weaves a gripping tale of struggle, uncertainty, grief, and heroism. It shares Loreen's terror as she receives notifications about her husband's crew's desperate battle against wind, seas, and biting cold. It details the ad hoc search and rescue mission, a valiant effort to rescue the men before time runs out. And, tragically, it tells how a young Navy wife becomes a widow and single mom. But Jerry's death is not the end of Loreen's story - and in the years following his loss, she discovers resilience, strength, and even new love with one of the accident survivors, Matt Gibbons. As she begins her journey toward a brighter future, she's inspired by the camaraderie and brotherhood forged between the survivors and their rescuers - and ultimately, the long-term lessons learned by all involved become part of the lasting legacy of this event.

About the Author
Loreen Gibbons is a former Navy wife, remarried widow, and retired teacher. This memoir, her debut effort, started out as letters written to her grandchildren so they would come to know the grandfather they had never met. Loreen lives with her husband, Matt, in the beautiful hill country of California's Central Coast.


Book Information
ISBN 9781647428204
Author Loreen Gibbons
Format Paperback
Page Count 312
Imprint She Writes Press
Publisher She Writes Press