Armchair Survivor

As riveting as the show is, you do wonder why these people would want to relive these incredibly traumatic events for a TV audience. Alan Hall, supervising producer of the series, explains that by "sharing their survival experience, they feel they are unburdening themselves of their experience and sharing it in a positive way with the audience." He explains that many of the show's subjects (especially those who were victims of vicious criminal assaults), believe their stories could provide lessons for others should they ever be confronted with similar experiences.

And strangely, though I watch a lot of documentary television that purports to teach, "I Survived" is one of the few that actually has changed my life. I still worry about accidentally stabbing myself or falling out of a window but I have begun to take control of my safety. Thanks to this show, I can proudly say that I know to never, ever do any of the following:

1. Pick up a hitchhiker.

2. Go skiing, snowmobiling or hiking without preparing for extreme weather, charging my cell phone and sliding some matches into my pocket.

3. Answer the door if I don't know who's on the other side of it.

4. Forgo my seat belt, life preserver or helmet.

5. Walk alone to my car in a deserted parking garage.

Honestly, I should have known not to do these things all along, but as Ben Sherwood notes in his new book "The Survivors Club" (Grand Central Publishing, 2009), it's really easy to assume that such things will never happen to you. Does anyone (besides me) imagine that while walking with her boyfriend, he or she may become the only living victim of the "Rail Road Serial Killer" as Danielle explained on "I Survived?" Or that they might wind up like Wayne and Mary who awaken one morning to find their farm house surrounded by chlorine gas and their appliances "melting before their eyes." But even if you are not an armchair survivor like myself, "I Survive" is a worthwhile show that succeeds in revealing the humanity behind the headlines—an art that has been forgotten by the glut of 24-hours news channels and endless episodes of "CSI."

© 2009