The Sacrament: The Incredible Story of Brent Dyer and Donna Johnson

by Peter Gzowski

Documents the efforts to survive undertaken by Donna Johnson and Brent Dyer after their plane crashed in the mountains of Idaho and the two had no choice but to consume the flesh of one of the dead passengers

Genres: Survival, Nonfiction

203 pages, Hardcover

First published September 27, 1980

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

My partner is related to one of the survivor’s of this tragic incident and one of his family members lent me this book as a ‘must read’ but warned me that it would be emotionally heavy, which it is. While it’s a quick read, you can’t help but feel the sense of despair and helplessness that the victims felt as they came to terms with their injuries, their isolation, and their hunger. They survived a horrific crash and had to cope with the death of Don and the insanity of Norm following his brain injury all while coming to terms with the fact that nobody was coming for them as Search and Rescue were likely looking in the wrong area and likely couldn’t see their white plane amongst the white snow that continued to fall. I appreciated the author’s historical review of cannibalism throughout the many different cultures that have practiced it out of necessity or to gain something spiritually or otherwise from the act. Without being in an extreme survival situation, it is impossible to know what I (or anyone else, for that matter) would do in those circumstances and I hold no judgment towards survivors who fall back on extreme measures such as these to stave off death. One thing that surprised me was the amount of supplies they took with them on their walk that served no practical purpose for survival, such as a curling iron, aftershave, perfume etc; they were seriously injured and struggling to walk so I thought they would try to lighten their loads as much as possible but I can also understand how hard it must be to leave behind items that brought them comfort regardless of their impracticality. I’m not surprised that they eventually ditched some of these items. I had to fight to hold back tears reading the section of the book when they were found and finally got a chance to call home, and when Jimmy Robertston offered to bring the dog to them.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I practically grew up in the White Clouds on my families ranch not far from where this happened so this was a must read for me. This book is definitely not for the feint of heart.

[Doris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a strange storry. It is a true account of the survival of two very young people under the most horrific of circumstances -- a plane crash. They suffer exposure and injuries and decide to eat parts of Donna's father's body for sustenance. The strange part is that they weren't really "starving" like the team in the book, "Alive" were. I think they were more afraid of starving and it seemed they were familiar with the story of the team who crashed. They were very young though, so perhaps that accounts for a lot of what happened. This is a good book, but not for the light reader.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Gzowski is (was) an easy story teller. This is a very difficult story to consume. Two of the youngest and least experienced survived while their elder companions did not. Amazing ordeal, well told. I read this in two sessions it was that compelling.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this a couple of times many years ago. I remember that I liked it enough that I'd like to read it again.

[Allan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the subject matter was gripping but I found the style of The Sacrament to be less so.

[ShepherdsDelight · Rating 2 out of 5]

68/100 (= 2.9/6) ≈ 2 Stars