In the midst of a catastrophic natural disaster L. E. Muesch is forced to make a decision that means life or death for people he never knew. He lays bare the intimate details of what happened that fateful day on Phi Phi Don Island, Thailand and the toll it has taken to live with such a decision. Rising Above the Wave is the true story of what happened to L.E. and his wife on December 26, 2004, Black Sunday.The morning after Christmas as my wife Helen and I were walking on the beach there was no indication of the horror that was imminent. The water has receded and there is a line of foam rushing toward us. The first wave sweeps us underwater and back to the palm trees lining the beach. We are swept underwater out to sea by the second monstrous wave that destroys everything in its path.Helen is near drowning and slips into unconsciousness. Desperately I manage to grab hold of a Thai fishing canoe and we are saved. Bodies and debris are everywhere and people are clinging to anything they can find and crying out for help. With Helen's lungs filled with water and struggling to breathe I make the decision to leave the people and save ourselves.