Reader's Digest » Survival Stories

Man Risks Life to Save Boys Floating Out to Sea

A couple of kids paddled a rowboat to retrieve a lost ball, but then the wind and current pulled them out toward open water.

Grandpa Wrestles a Gator to Save His Dog

It had been a particularly rainy summer in quiet Lake County, Florida. The water level had risen in two ponds nestled among large green lawns in The Villages,…

Barefoot Teen Braves Fire, Saves Neighbors

“I’d never seen smoke like that,” he says. “My glasses immediately turned black from the ash.”

Teen Saves Others from Deer Attack Using a Hammer

When high school student Alexis Vaughan saw a deer attacking a stranger, she took matters into her own hands.

“I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced”

When her family would not help her escape the horror her life had become, this Yemeni child acted on her own.

Survival Story: The Little Boy Who Couldn’t Cry Help

Eight-year-old Robert was nonverbal with an autism spectrum disorder, so when he vanished in a Virginia state park and prompted the largest manhunt in state history, rescuers knew that finding him wouldn't be easy. They were right.

The Tot and the Twister: A Real-Life Tornado Drama

On April 3, 2012, in the Diamond Creek subdivision of Forney, Texas, the Enochs family awoke to an ordinary day. Sherry Enochs, 52, saw her husband, Mike, off…

Miracle Rescue from an Icy River Plunge

On a frigid winter day, a group of strangers band together to save three children in a dangerous river rescue.

Survival Stories: Hot, Thirsty, and Lost in Death Valley

Death Valley, the 3,000-square-mile sprawl of sand dunes and arid mountains along California’s southeastern border, is the hottest, driest place in North America. Temperatures soar into the triple…

In the Jaws of a Polar Bear

As two Arctic kayakers were sound asleep, the polar bear that had picked up their scent began lumbering toward the camp.