Teacher Turns Amazon Survival Story Into Hope for Kids

Ellen Cochrane spent 20 years teaching middle schoolers, and she noticed something powerful: kids facing tough times need to see others overcome impossible odds.

Now the UC Davis alum has turned that insight into her first book for young readers. "Follow the Water" hits shelves March 17, retelling the true story of 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke, who survived a plane crash and walked through the Amazon jungle for 11 days in 1971.

Cochrane has a personal connection to the story. As an exchange student in Peru during the 1970s, she lived in the same city as Juliane and even flew the same route where the crash happened.

During COVID lockdowns, Cochrane rediscovered her old journals from Peru. She was pursuing a master's degree in science writing and realized no one had shared this incredible survival story with middle grade readers.

The book doesn't shy away from hard truths. Juliane discovered other victims who didn't survive, and the crash itself was terrifying. But Cochrane, drawing on her two decades in classrooms, knows kids want honesty above all.

"I think some kids have some tough lives and when they see that somebody can overcome obstacles and persevere, I think it resonates with them," she said. "It lets them know, 'you know, I can do this,' whatever it is."

Why This Inspires

Cochrane wove natural history and science throughout the book, teaching readers about the Amazon's ecosystem and Peru's wildlife. As a California naturalist, she believes the outdoor world holds special value for young people.

She couldn't interview Juliane directly. The survivor, now Dr. Diller, stopped giving interviews after years of media pressure. So Cochrane used her Spanish language skills to dig through decades of newspaper reports and recordings.

The author is donating 10 percent of her profits to the foundation Juliane created at her parents' former research station in the Amazon. If they ever meet, Cochrane hopes to tell her the book will introduce thousands of kids to that special part of the rainforest.

Her next book, "The Siberian," tells a fictional survival story set in Russia. This one features siblings encountering an Amur tiger, part of a conservation success story that brought the species back from near extinction to over 500 tigers today.

Cochrane found her niche writing for kids at that crucial age when they're figuring out their own strength.