Sink or Swim

Life After Crash Landing in the Hudson

Karin Rooney had always been a bit of a nervous flyer.

In January 2009, she was at a crossroads in her most significant relationship. She was about to start school at Metro State College to study social work after taking three years off. It seemed that she was on the brink of something important and life-changing.

After taking a vacation to New York City with her boyfriend, Chris, they boarded Flight #1549, looking forward to going home. Shortly after the takeoff, Karin heard The Noise and felt the plane shake. Chris tried to calm Karin’s fears, but he knew that something had gone horribly wrong. As the plane began a 180-turn, Karin prayed, “God, protect our plane. Gently lay our plane down. Put your angels above, below, in front, and behind our plane.”

Sink or Swim is Karin’s riveting story of the day that Flight #1549 crashed into the Hudson River with Captain Sully Sullenberger at the helm, and of the miraculous survival of 155 people. Karin describes how the plane crash left her with PTSD. However, through God’s grace and trauma counseling, along with the passage of time, Karin learned to face the day that changed her forever.

---

Author Bios

Karin Rooney is the survivor of one of most historic plane crashes. She studied social work at Metropolitan State University in Colorado. She has spent her post education working in foster care and adoption, which created space for her to grow in her understanding and passion for trauma-healing. Karin and her husband, Chris, have three children, Elaina, Clark and Henry. The family recently moved from Colorado to Texas. Karin enjoys reading Victor Frankl, Paul David Tripp, John Steinbeck, and historical fiction.

Jessie Santala is a Colorado native, a firstborn, a wife, a mom, and a big fan of coffee. She has her undergraduate degree in History/Secondary Education from the University of Northern Colorado and her master’s degree in Creative Writing from the University of Denver. Her parents instilled a love of the written word in her at a young age, and to this day she is passionate about reading, libraries, and writing thank-you notes. She works as a personal assistant and she and her husband, Mike, volunteer as youth leaders when they aren’t at home trying to keep up with their two babies, Charlotte and Felix.

Check out this interview with Karin Rooney on More Than a Review and this CBN article.

Media Kit