Forty Hours

In the winter of 1965, a single-engine airplane with two people onboard crashes in a densely wooded area of Texas known as the Big Thicket. While the pilot, Gabe Rogers, is killed, his passenger, preacher Corky Farris, survives to find himself confronting a crisis of faith. Paralyzed from the waist down due to a broken back, Corky struggles to stay alive until he can be rescued. One problem – because they took off a day earlier than planned, nobody yet knows to be searching for them.

For the next forty hours, Corky confronts the decisions in his life that led him to this spot. Has he truly followed God’s will, or is this his punishment for disregarding it? Egging him on, and also challenging his faith, is the spirit (angel? ghost? hallucination?) of Gabe, the dead pilot, who guides him on this painful journey of self-discovery. Based on a true story.

Forty Hours is the dramatic story of a courageous man who was at death’s door but refused to die. Based on the real-life story of his father Corky Farris, the author gives us a moment-by-moment account of his pain and suffering – and his struggle for survival. The hero of this book wrote an indelible chapter in the annals of survival.

Written in the best literary tradition, this book is a page-turner. Once you begin to read it, you won’t want to put it down. You will be glad you came across this amazing story. You will learn that even a great tragedy may not be the end, but a new beginning. Parenthetically, the real Corky Farris was my close friend for we served as missionaries together in Japan.

-- Bill Keith, author of The Commissioner: A True Story of Deceit, Dishonor, and Death; Days of Anguish, Days of Hope: Chaplain Robert Preston Taylor’s Ordeal and Triumph as a POW in World War II, and W.A. Criswell: The Authorized Biography

The life of Dr. T. V. “Corky” Farris is worth studying even without the plane crash. He was a faithful servant of the Lord as a missionary, professor, and pastor. His commitment to God’s Word and God’s Will is both encouraging and challenging. Forty Hours tells a story of struggle, perseverance, grace, and faith.

This book, written by his son, is one you won’t want to put down. The story is engaging, the writing is clever, the struggle is relatable, and the lessons of faith are tangible. I came away from this work encouraged and entertained all at the same time. It’s a story I will retell and a work I will recommend. – Dr. Deron Biles, Sunnyvale, Texas, First Baptist Church