Courage

Plot Summary

An adventure story about Robert, Teresa and Christy Childs, an aspiring author and his family who crashes their boat during a storm and become stranded on a small rocky island in the middle of a treacherous river. Robert is hurt and Teresa and stepdaughter Christy must set aside their troubled relationship if they are to survive. Together they care for Robert, recover supplies from their sunken boat and keep away a hungry bear intent on swimming to their small island for the buffet. After several days and a number of harrowing missteps, Robert is well enough to travel and they raft across the river to Bear Island. Once there, they split-up: Christy stays behind with Robert while Teresa takes off on a dangerous trek through the woods in search of help. She survives exhaustion, hallucinations and an animal attack and is finally rescued by hunters. On their return home, the family is surprised with good news: Robert’s first novel has become an over-night sensation; after many disappointments, Teresa is finally pregnant; and Christy has realized that her step-mother is not the interloper she thought she was and has found a new trust and love for Teresa and their new expanding family.