Zoe Cooper grew up around parachutes—her parents were skydivers—and by her eighth jump she felt like a pro. Then the parachute ripped. Spinning low, she and her instructor had to cut away and free-fall before a reserve could open. As the ground “was coming up impossibly fast,” time slowed. Zoe made a stark bargain—“I was willing to lose both of my legs in that moment”—yet a calm certainty kept breaking through: “today wasn’t my day.” She walked away without injury and with a revelation about fear, survival, and how the mind protects us when it matters most.

This episode, as harrowing as a failed parachute is, is really more about an almost certain life-or-death moment and how one human’s brain responded to the circumstance.

Story Producer: Dan Bush

* If you have a transformative near-death experience to share, we’d love to hear your story. Please email us at aliveagainproject@gmail.com

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