Trapped

A donation will be paid to the Burwood Spinal Unit for every copy of this book sold.

‘It was all so sudden. Twenty seconds and then silence. I started calling out, 'Can anyone hear me?’ – nothing but silence.

Over the next few hours I heard hysterical sobbing and people clapping as others were rescued. I could hear engines, drilling and what sounded like sledgehammers . . . when the sounds went away I worried they weren't coming back.'

• Ann Bodkin, trapped for 25 hours

The Canterbury earthquake of February 2011 altered landscape, history, and most importantly, human lives. Many perished and the lives of thousands were upended.

In Trapped, Martin van Beynen documents with sensitivity and unerring detail the personal experiences of more than thirty quake survivors – before, during and after the event – in their own words.

At once poignant, dramatic and enthralling, their stories record a defining moment in Canterbury's his­tory and testify to the courage and heroism of everyday people.

‘The raw emotion of these personal stories makes for a moving and dramatic book. They provide a fascinating perspective from survivors who cheated death, some only just, and carried on.’

• Paul Rodwell, Christchurch Central Fire Station officer who rescued survivors from the rubble