Unburied
One Woman’s Impossible Survival Story Against All Odds
Maayan Sebbag
- Narrative Nonfiction
- Survival Memoir
- Spiritual Transformation
- Healing
The Book
Something is crawling over my face. My body turns to stone as panic takes hold of me. The taste of metal floods my mouth all at once. Blood.
Wreathed in darkness beneath the ruins of a fish restaurant, gasping for dense polluted air, twenty-seven-year-old Maayan Sebbag wakes knowing one thing: she is about to die. It is May 12, 2008. The worst earthquake in Chinese memory has just hit Sichuan Province, burying her and her friend Anat under tons of steel and concrete.
But Maayan makes an impossible decision: she will not wait for rescue. With her face shattered and bleeding, her friend’s finger severed, and nothing but hope and a backpack, she undertakes a three-day trek across devastated mountains, raging rivers, and flooded villages toward the hospital in Chengdu. Over terrain that seems impassable and with a body approaching death, she is guided by strangers who become angels, an inner voice that refuses to surrender, and a profound Near-Death Experience that answers the one question that matters: why choose to live?
Unburied is the harrowing and ultimately transcendent memoir of a young woman’s encounter with the impossible—and her discovery of what it truly means to be alive. Part survival story, part spiritual awakening, part healing guide, Sebbag’s account weaves together visceral details, Traditional Chinese Medicine frameworks, and insights rooted in both Jewish mysticism and Eastern philosophy. The result is a book that transforms readers’ understanding of crisis, resilience, choice, and transformation.
Why This Book Matters
Unburied answers the question so many face during crisis: is survival just about physical endurance, or does something deeper guide our will to live? Maayan’s story shows that survival begins with a specific internal choice—and a purpose worth living for.
Unlike many survival stories, Sebbag’s narrative is anchored in medical reality. She explains trauma at the cellular level using Traditional Chinese Medicine frameworks, discusses her trauma-induced diabetes and its spontaneous stabilization, and integrates psychological insight with spiritual experience—appealing to both believers and skeptics.
The 2008 Sichuan earthquake killed approximately 70,000 people. Among the survivors, Maayan’s perspective as a young foreign woman, a medical student, and ultimately a spiritual seeker offers a unique and powerful angle on one of the worst natural disasters in modern history. The survival-memoir and Near-Death Experience markets remain strong internationally—from Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning to Sebastian Junger’s 2024 In My Time of Dying—and Unburied brings a fresh, culturally distinctive voice to that shelf.
About the Book
Genre: Survival Memoir / Spiritual Transformation / Healing
Complete Manuscript | 75,000 Words | 29 Chapters + Epilogue + 3 Appendixes
For readers of Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning and Edith Eger’s The Choice, Unburied offers a contemporary survival narrative grounded in spiritual insight, medical reality, and the transformative power of conscious choice. The book appeals to trauma survivors, women navigating life transitions, individuals interested in Near-Death Experiences, practitioners of Eastern medicine, psychotherapists, and anyone seeking proof that transformation is possible.
Author
Maayan Sebbag
Maayan Sebbag is a holistic practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine and a psychotherapist specializing in trauma recovery and PTSD. Her life-changing journey began in Chengdu, China, during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, when she was a twenty-seven-year-old medical student. Faced with death and armed with nothing but resourcefulness and determination, Sebbag fought for survival with the help of strangers and her own inner strength.
Today, she channels her experience into highly sought-after inspirational talks on natural disasters, survival, and inner strength. She owns a private clinic in Israel where she treats complicated traumas and PTSD using Chinese medicine and other therapeutic techniques, helping clients reconnect to their inner resilience and live meaningful lives. She is a mother of four and brings her unique perspective—combining lived trauma, professional training, and spiritual insight—to her work with patients and audiences worldwide.
Sebbag’s voice is distinctive: vulnerable yet clinical, intimate yet professional. She speaks as both a trauma survivor and a medical expert, grounding spiritual and philosophical concepts in biological and psychological reality.
Rights Status
Publishing Rights Available
Translation Rights Available:
- German
- French
- Spanish
- Italian
- Portuguese
- Vietnamese
- Chinese
- Korean
Film Rights: Available
Audio Rights: Available
Comparable Titles
This book is suitable for readers who enjoyed:
- Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
- The Choice by Edith Eger
- Wild by Cheryl Strayed
- Dying to Be Me by Anita Moorjani
- In My Time of Dying by Sebastian Junger
BISAC Categories
- BIO026000 — Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs
- OCC010000 — Body, Mind & Spirit / Death, Dying, Near-Death Experience
- SEL013000 — Self-Help / Death, Grief, Bereavement
- OCC036000 — Body, Mind & Spirit / Inspiration & Personal Growth
Themes
- Survival
- Choice
- Near-Death Experience
- Motherhood
- Resilience
- Mind-Body Healing
- East-Meets-West Spirituality
- Transformation
Keywords
For readers interested in:
- Near-death experience memoirs
- Survival true stories
- Spiritual transformation books
- Trauma recovery and healing
- Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Women’s resilience memoirs
- Disaster survival stories
FAQ
What is the book’s central argument?
Survival is not only a matter of physical endurance. It begins with an internal choice and a purpose worth living for. Through her experience in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and a profound Near-Death Experience, Maayan Sebbag shows that the will to live can be consciously chosen, even in the face of death.
Is this an academic book?
No. Unburied is a survival memoir with a spiritual and healing dimension, written for a general readership. Although it draws on Traditional Chinese Medicine frameworks and psychological insight, it is a personal, narrative account rather than a scholarly work.
What does the book cover?
On May 12, 2008, 27-year-old medical student Maayan Sebbag is buried under the ruins of a restaurant when a massive earthquake hits Sichuan Province, China. The book follows her three-day trek across devastated mountains, raging rivers and flooded villages toward the hospital in Chengdu, her Near-Death Experience, and her path of healing afterward. It weaves together visceral survival detail, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jewish mysticism and Eastern philosophy.
Has this book been published before?
The book is currently a complete manuscript, offered for licensing. Translation rights (German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Chinese and Korean), as well as film and audio rights, are available.
What is the word count?
75,000 words, in 29 chapters, an epilogue and 3 appendixes.
Who will enjoy this book?
Readers of survival stories and Near-Death Experience memoirs, trauma survivors, women navigating life transitions, psychotherapists, practitioners of Eastern medicine, and anyone seeking proof that transformation is possible. It suits fans of Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, Edith Eger’s The Choice, Cheryl Strayed’s Wild, Anita Moorjani’s Dying to Be Me and Sebastian Junger’s In My Time of Dying.
Rights Agent's Notes
From a rights agent’s perspective, Unburied stands out in a crowded memoir market because it delivers on three fronts at once: a visceral survival narrative, a well-documented Near-Death Experience, and a professional, clinically grounded voice. Publishers acquiring in the survival-memoir and NDE space are typically choosing between books that are strong on story or strong on credibility—Sebbag’s dual identity as both survivor and licensed trauma therapist gives this book both.
The US and UK markets have shown sustained appetite for this combination, most recently with Sebastian Junger’s In My Time of Dying (2024) and the continued sales strength of Anita Moorjani’s Dying to Be Me and Edith Eger’s The Choice. Unburied fits directly alongside these titles while offering something they don’t: a specific historical anchor (the 2008 Sichuan earthquake) and a distinct cultural lens that blends Traditional Chinese Medicine with Jewish mysticism.
We see particular potential in German-language, Central European, and Asian markets, where both TCM and disaster-recovery narratives already have engaged readerships, alongside continued opportunity in English-language territories through comparative positioning with established bestsellers. Publishers with strong lists in wellness, trauma recovery, or inspirational memoir—as well as those seeking a female-led true story with screen potential—are a strong fit for this title.