Excerpt: 'Love Always, Petra' by Petra Nemcova

Dec. 5, 2005 — -- In December 2004, Petra Nemcova, a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, was on a romantic trip through Thailand, showing off the country she loved to her boyfriend, Simon Atlee. Then the tsunami struck -- the fierce waves carried Atlee away to an untimely death. Nemcova survived, clinging to a tree with a shattered pelvis.

In her new book, "Love Always, Petra: A Story of Courage and the Discovery of Life's Hidden's Gifts," Nemcova shares her story of how she healed both physically and emotionally from the tragedy. She also tells the story of her rise from a poor Czech teenager to an international modeling success. Below is the prologue from the book.

Prologue

December 26, 2004

Khao Lak, Thailand
10:30 a.m.

Pain.

It brought me back to consciousness, a sharp, agonizing,throbbing pain racking my body, my legs.

My legs.

I opened my eyes and looked down. Black filthy watercovered the lower half of my body. I couldn't even see mylegs. My arms, bare, scratched, bleeding and aching, werewrapped around a palm tree. I was holding on, leaningagainst the trunk. Black, oil-slicked, muddied waterchoked with debris was everywhere. I looked up. The skywas blue, clear, untroubled, the sun was shining. Wherewas I? Where was Simon? What had happened?

I remembered.

Simon and I were in the bungalow when a rush of waterrose up so suddenly there was not even a second to think,a rush of water that came from all directions, hurtling usout into the furious current. For one split second, beforethe water separated us, I saw Simon's face.

"Petra!" he screamed. "Petra! What's happening?"

I couldn't answer. I didn't know. Then I lost sight ofhim. Seconds later, I saw him again, whirling in the tumblingwaters. He was a few yards ahead of me. Behind hima rooftop was sticking out of the water.

"Catch the roof! Catch the roof!" I shouted. Then hewas gone. I don't know whether he heard me or not. Iprayed that he would catch hold. I was sure he would. Hewas a strong swimmer; he had to be okay.

It was impossible to tell in which direction the waterswere streaming. I needed to grab onto something or beswept away. I saw another rooftop. I reached out my arms,and sending out every bit of energy I had, I grabbed theedges and held on. Instantly, my legs were sucked underneath,and everything accumulated by the raging water,the wood and metal objects, all the trash, began slammingagainst my hips and legs. I hung on, screaming with painand fear. I would be crushed into nothing. For the firsttime, I thought of dying.

Miraculously, the pressure of the water began to lessen.I pulled myself up onto the roof. My clothes had been tornfrom my body. I was naked. Then, as quickly as the first,another tremendous wave rose up and poured over therooftop. I lost my grip and was drawn down beneath thewater. Frantically, I flailed my arms, trying to get out fromunder the thick layer of filth between me and the surface.Desperately, I fought to get some air until I had no breathleft. I stopped fighting, stopped struggling, and began swallowingthe inky water. A great feeling of peacefulness cameover me. I surrendered to the calmness. Whatever wasmeant to be, whatever God will decide, it's okay.

At that moment, without any effort on my part, I wasthrust through the barrier of debris to the surface. I threwmy head back and gasped for air. Above me was the blue,blue sky. I was never so happy in my life to see the sky.

I don't remember ever being happier. I was in Thailand, acountry I loved, with my love, Simon Atlee. Simon was a photographer,and we'd been a couple for eighteen months. Wewere going to spend our second Christmas and New Year's togetherin a very special way. Usually, Simon booked our holidays,but this time I did everything. That is, I made all thearrangements through a travel agent in Los Angeles. She wasThai and took particular interest in helping me create the perfectvacation. This was my fifth visit to Thailand and Simon'sfirst; I wanted him to experience with me the lush green of theland, the smells, the sunshine, the ocean, the food explodingwith taste in your mouth, the culture, and most important, thepeople. The Thais are the kindest people I ever met, and itcomes from inside -- it's not learned, it's natural. They put theirhands together and bow their heads to greet you, taking themoment to show respect in such a gentle way. The gracefulnessand peacefulness are addictive, and this land is in my heart. Ithad been nearly three years since my last visit, but the minutewe arrived, I knew I was "home."

At Bangkok International Airport, we changed planes andflew on to the first of our three stops, Chiang Mai. This wasmy first visit to this city, so Simon and I were seeing thingsthrough the same eyes. We went on different tours, includingguided visits to nearby Buddhist temples. One tour guide explainedthat, in the past, there had been a war between theBurmese and the Thais. Bad things happened, but the goodthing was, the Burmese brought Buddhism to Thailand. I aminspired by the gentle teachings of the Buddha, so this was especiallyinteresting to me.

We went to see a giant, seated Buddha on a nearby mountaintop.It wasn't a very touristy place; in fact, Simon and Iwere the only visitors. As is customary in many sacred places,we took off our shoes and went inside on our knees to pay ourrespects. We lit a candle and incense and placed flowers beforethe golden statue. Off to the side, two young monks wearingsaffron robes were seated at a table with a checkerboard on top.The monks were playing checkers with flower petals and brokenmatches for the game pieces. Simon wanted to take a picture,but the minute he took out his camera, the monks puteverything away and ran off. Obviously, they didn't want to getcaught playing games.

We went to see the Long Neck Ladies, tall, thin, and elegantwomen who wear golden rings around their necks. Theserings are a sign of beauty. They are put on starting when thewomen are little girls, and in time their necks stretch up manyinches. I think they are a tribe from Burma.

Simon took lots of pictures, especially of one adorable littlegirl. She kept smiling and repeated every word Simon said.

"Hello."

"Hello."

"Can I take a picture?"

"Can I take a picture?"

"Thank you."

"Thank you."

Simon giggled like a schoolboy.

We went to the umbrella factories and the silk factories andbought presents. We went to see the amazing elephant shows.The elephants play football with their feet, play harmonicaswith their trunks, and most incredible of all, they paint pictureson large pieces of paper. The keepers put brushes in theirtrunks, and the elephants paint with such a concentration -- not all over the place, but very precise. The keepers change thecolors, and the elephants make flowers and trees. It is unbelievable,and even more unbelievable, the paper is made fromelephant dung. Simon bought two of these specially preparedpaintings for his niece and nephew. We fed bananas to the elephantsand played with the cute little babies with the spikyhairs on their heads. Of course, we took an elephant ridethrough the jungle.