I Survived The Deadliest Tsunami In History | Boxing Day 2004 Survivor Riley Kehoe

Summary

Summary of "I Survived The Deadliest Tsunami In History | Boxing Day 2004 Survivor Riley Kehoe" – Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark

Release Date: December 27, 2024

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark, host Alex Clark interviews Riley Kehoe, a survivor of the catastrophic 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Riley shares her harrowing experience, the profound impact it has had on her life, and the lessons she's drawn to help heal a "sick culture" physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Riley's Background Before the Tsunami

Riley Kehoe, at just 10 years old, was vacationing with her extensive family on a picturesque resort island off the coast of Thailand. [02:41] She describes her upbringing in New Zealand as joyful and self-sustained, living on a farm with her two younger sisters. Her family had a deep sense of community and compassion, often volunteering at orphanages to rescue children from human trafficking.

The Day of the Tsunami

Initial Earthquake

On December 26, 2004, a colossal 9.1 magnitude undersea earthquake struck off Sumatra's coast, triggering the deadliest tsunami in recorded history. [00:55] Riley recounts waking up to a violent shaking of her bed, initially thinking her sister was playing a prank. The earthquake subsided as quickly as it struck, leaving the family unaware of the impending disaster.

The Tsunami Wave

Shortly after breakfast, Riley's mother sensed the danger as the ocean inexplicably receded, a clear sign of an impending tsunami. [09:45] Animals around the island, such as elephants and dogs, instinctively sought higher ground, signaling the approaching threat. Moments later, the massive wave struck, obliterating everything in its path.

Notable Quote:

"I could die today. I see the wave come towards him and then smash him." – Riley Kehoe [14:59]

Survival on the Island

Seeking High Ground

Riley and her family followed their parents' urgent instructions to seek higher ground. [17:10] Amidst chaos and destruction, they found refuge on a grassy hilltop, surviving multiple waves over six harrowing hours. During this time, they witnessed unimaginable loss and the raw power of nature.

Notable Quote:

"Every wave is a massive force. Each time, you can feel the ground shaking." – Riley Kehoe [27:55]

The Aftermath

Descending the hill after a week, Riley encountered the devastating aftermath: destroyed buildings, injured survivors, and the heartbreaking realization that many might not make it. [32:05] The family coordinated efforts to locate missing relatives, enduring further emotional trauma as they navigated the ravaged landscape.

Rescue and Return Home

A rescue boat from World Vision arrived, evacuating the surviving members of Riley's family. [41:13] Miraculously, all 22 family members survived, a testament to their resilience and the swift response of humanitarian aid.

Notable Quote:

"All of them made it. It was like my heart was overwhelmed." – Riley Kehoe [38:27]

Life After the Tsunami

PTSD and Healing

The traumatic experience left Riley grappling with PTSD and lingering fears. [46:24] Through faith, family support, and personal resilience, she began her healing journey, eventually channeling her experiences into helping others overcome their fears and traumas.

Lessons and Mission Work

Inspired by her survival, Riley became a lifeguard, author, and missionary. She emphasizes the importance of "courage to care," encouraging others to face their fears not just for themselves but to help those around them.

Notable Quote:

"Fear does not stop life. It stops death." – Riley Kehoe [82:33]

Riley's Book and Continuing Mission

Riley is set to release her book, "Three Seconds of Courage," which aims to inspire young adults to embrace courage over fear. Through storytelling and practical tools, she shares her journey and the lessons learned from surviving one of history's deadliest tsunamis.

Notable Quotes and Insights

• On Courage and Fear:

  "A little bit of courage has become my motto in life. Because everyone you're fighting a battle between courage and fear." – Riley Kehoe [63:23]

• On Helping Others:

  "Every day, find one person that I can help. Maybe it's your friend or maybe it's having the confidence to just say yes." – Riley Kehoe [82:33]

Conclusion

Riley Kehoe's story is a powerful testament to human resilience and the enduring impact of courage and compassion. Her journey from surviving a catastrophic tsunami to dedicating her life to helping others embodies the very essence of healing a "sick culture." Through her book and ongoing mission work, Riley continues to inspire and uplift those around her, demonstrating that even in the face of unimaginable adversity, hope and courage can prevail.

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Follow Riley Kehoe:

• Instagram: @RileyWithCourage
• Book Release: Three Seconds of Courage available soon on Amazon and major bookstores.

Connect with Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark:

• Podcast Platforms: Spotify, YouTube, and more.
• Call to Action: Support the mission by leaving a five-star review or making a tax-deductible donation through the link in the bio.

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This detailed summary encapsulates Riley Kehoe's extraordinary survival story, her journey of healing, and her mission to inspire courage in others, providing a comprehensive overview for those who haven't listened to the episode.

Transcript

[Alex Clark]

The day of the tsunami in 2004, 230,000 people were killed or missing.

[Riley Kehoe]

All the water around the island leaves. All the animals went silent. I hear my mom yelling run. I saw this wave destroying people. They didn't run fast enough and they had no other option but to turn and face the wave. Hundreds of bags lined up. Maybe one or two people came to collect their bags and the rest were just evidence of people who will never collect their bags.

[Alex Clark]

On December 26, 2004, exactly 20 years ago, a 9.1 magnitude undersea earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra, causing a tsunami. It would hit Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand, the worst 14 countries total.

[Unnamed Co-host]

The energy released would be equivalent to.

[Alex Clark]

23,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs. It was the deadliest tsunami in recorded history, reaching as far as three miles inland and killing or missing 230,000 people, including tourists. 33 were Americans. There were thousands of people enjoying vacation on the beach or at expensive resorts. The tsunami caused nearly $6 billion in damage to Indonesia and displaced millions of people. They had no warning. The only creatures who sensed something was coming were the elephants and dogs who sought higher ground just before. The 2012 movie the Impossible starring Naomi Watts, is based on the true story of one of the families who survived this natural disaster. Another vacationing family on the beach that day In Thailand was 10 year old Riley Keos. She survived and she is here to share her story. This show is made for video.

[Unnamed Co-host]

Although you can listen anywhere you get.

[Alex Clark]

Your podcasts, you can watch each episode on Spotify or YouTube.

[Unnamed Co-host]

We're able to do that with generous.

[Alex Clark]

Tax deductible donations from supporters like you through the link in the bio. We're on a mission to heal a.

[Unnamed Co-host]

Sick culture physically, emotionally and spiritually.

[Alex Clark]

I hope you enjoy this Christmas week special. Please welcome natural disaster survivor Riley Kehoe to culture Apothecary. How old were you and where Were you on December 26, 2004?

[Riley Kehoe]

I was 10 years old and my family and I were taking a holiday to a little island off the coast of Thailand.

[Alex Clark]

And you were from where?

[Riley Kehoe]

I was from New Zealand. I was born in London, but then I grew up in New Zealand and at the time my family was living in little farm in New Zealand.

[Alex Clark]

And so is this a regular vacation to go to Thailand for. For Christmas for you? Gu. Is that something you guys always did or was this a random first time vacation for your family?

[Riley Kehoe]

No, we had been several times. So my grandfather, he. He said he loved to follow the sun and would spend half the year in Italy and then Half the year in Thailand. And we had gone, prior to this day, we had gone to work at an orphanage that rescued children out of human trafficking. And it was just amazing and also so intense. And so my family, my whole extended family, so it's like me, my sisters, my parents, all 20 and all my cousins and aunt, aunties and uncles are 22 of us are on this little island off the coast of Thailand. Absolutely beautiful. Like, imagine beach, crystal clear water, like palm trees everywhere, massive cliffs on either side of the island. This is a beautiful resort island.

[Alex Clark]

And was it a resort you were staying at or did you guys have a house that you were renting?

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah, so. So the crazy thing is we had showed up the day before and we had booked this holiday a year in advance. We show up, we woke up to the reception, we're like so excited for our beachfront bungalows. And this, the receptionist is speaking in Thai with another lady and you can tell there's like a confused, worried look on her face. And she turns to us and says in English, I am so sorry, but we have absolutely screwed up your booking. And we have given you middle of the island, concrete apartment, top floor story room, which later on was a wild thing.

[Alex Clark]

Yeah, life saving, I'm sure.

[Riley Kehoe]

Yes.

[Alex Clark]

What day did you guys actually arrive?

[Riley Kehoe]

The Christmas day.

[Alex Clark]

Okay, so you had just gotten there the day before. And how long were you planning on staying there with all this family?

[Riley Kehoe]

We're gonna be there for two weeks.

[Alex Clark]

What do you remember about your life at that time? 10 years old, just even before the vacation, Just what was life like for you?

[Riley Kehoe]

It was, if I could sum it up in one word, it was honestly Joy. Like I have two parents that you would walk into the kitchen and they're dancing with each other. And my, both my parents love Jes. I. My mom was a pastor at the biggest church in New Zealand. Sundays was like, I loved church. So Sundays was like going to multiple services in a row. Like walking around as a little 10 year old carrying like a baby, because they call me like little baby whisperer because all the little babies would cry and then it would calm down when I was holding it. We lived on this beautiful farm. We had horses, chickens, lived on the farm was self sustainable, so we never even needed to leave the farm to get any food. It was just a blissful like childhood. Like we would go out after school and do homework for a few minutes and then just run out and be kids. Like it was a childhood full of innocence.

[Alex Clark]

And how many siblings did you have?

[Riley Kehoe]

I have two younger Sisters.

[Alex Clark]

Okay. And so what is the age differences?

[Riley Kehoe]

So there's two years apart from each of us. So, like, from me to My youngest is four years.

[Alex Clark]

And you're the oldest?

[Riley Kehoe]

Yes.

[Alex Clark]

Okay. The day of the tsunami, in 2004, 230,000 people were killed or missing.

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah.

[Alex Clark]

Your family decides to go to the beach. What do you remember about the weather?

[Riley Kehoe]

It's beautiful, sunny, gorgeous. But what had happened is that multiple hours prior to our breakfast, I was asleep in the bed, and all of a sudden, I wake up, and my whole bed is shaking. And I'm like, what is going on? And I thought my sister was, like, underneath my bed, like, pulling a prank on me and was, like, shaking my bed. So I jump out of the bed and look underneath the ground, and. And my sister's not there. And I realized the whole ground is shaking. And so I run down the hallway to where my parents were, and I'm like, mom, dad, what's going on? My mom's like, it's an earthquake. Don't worry, honey. And the moment she says that, the earthquake stops. And so we call the reception. We're like, what's going on? They're like, is earthquake one off? Not too sure, but, like, you're fine. They, like, reassures we're okay. So we go to breakfast, and it's this beautiful sunny day, and life carries on.

[Alex Clark]

Who decides in the family that it should be a beach day?

[Riley Kehoe]

I think it must have been my mom. But we were just, like, in that morning, we had gone and visited just after breakfast, this island called Egg Island. And it was, like, a beautiful day, so we were just trying to embrace it. And we go on this boat, and we go to this island that's essentially a pile of sand in the middle of the ocean. And then we come back, and then there we are sitting on the beach, making sandcastles.

[Alex Clark]

So you were almost in the middle of the ocean.

[Riley Kehoe]

Yes.

[Alex Clark]

But you had just come back to have sandwiches. Who in your family first noticed something seemed wrong?

[Riley Kehoe]

It was my mom. So what happened is my sisters and I are making sandcastles. And then my dad and my mom. My dad said to my mom, hey, the girls are happy. Just let them be. And my mom, she's on the beachfront reception calling our airline to confirm our flight back to New Zealand. It was just making sure everything was okay. She's sitting on the phone, and then all of a sudden, all the water around the island leaves. And it leaves so quickly that fish are flopping around everywhere. And the wild thing was, is at this point, my dad had walked up to us. Even though we were so happy, he just, like, had this instinct to start walking us back to our room, which was in the middle of the island. And so we just obediently followed my dad, me and my two sisters, and we're walking down this pathway. And this island is small, so, like, even from the door to get up to our apartment, you can see either beach on either side of the island. And so we're walking back, and I noticed. So this island has tons of animals, and there's, like, wild monkeys and dogs and birds. And as we're walking back to our apartment in our bikinis barefooted, I noticed all the animals went silent. And it was like, dogs. Like, there were the wild dogs, and they just yelp and run into the bushes. Birds, like, suddenly fly into the air and, like, go off into the horizon. All, like, the monkeys and everything start running up, like, climbing up the hill. And I'm like, what is going on? Like, it was just this, like, the animal sixth sense knew danger was coming.

[Alex Clark]

And you were just with your dad. Your mom was still on the beach.

[Riley Kehoe]

So I'm still with my dad at this point, following him to the middle of the island. Meanwhile, my mom is on the phone calling the airline and notices suddenly all the water leaves and her whole heart and stomach, like, turn upside down. Because she knew. She knew what was about to happen.

[Alex Clark]

She knew it was a tsunami.

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah. She'd seen signs on the beaches of. Of Florida saying, like, if the water leaves, you have a few minutes. Get to high ground.

[Alex Clark]

So as you're walking with your dad, is he saying anything to you?

[Riley Kehoe]

I feel like he was a little bit oblivious. He was just, like, in dad mode. Like, he was just like, girls, let's go. Like, we gotta go. We were about go. My mom and my dad were about to go rock climbing, and so he was about to go change his outfit, so he was ready to go rock climbing. And my sisters and I would have been on the ground playing while my parents would have been climbing up a hill.

[Alex Clark]

And what were other people around the resort doing?

[Riley Kehoe]

It was like, at this moment, people started to notice something was going on. And you could see just the way that people responded to this, like, gut feeling that you have of danger. And I remember as we were walking back, this one woman with her baby sitting next to her, just, like, frozen, staring out as the water is leaving. And then I noticed, like, some people were, like, so fascinated by the fish that were now just flopping around everywhere and start like, running out further into the ocean to, like, go grab the fish. And then some people are, like, completely oblivious, don't really know what's going on. They're not looking at the beach, so they haven't even noticed that the water is leaving.

[Alex Clark]

How long from the water being sucked out into the ocean does the first wave hit?

[Riley Kehoe]

Like, anything between two to five minutes.

[Alex Clark]

Two to five minutes. Have you made it to the apartment yet?

[Riley Kehoe]

So we're just about. My dad is just about to put the key into the apartment, and all of a sudden, as a kid, you can just, you know, your mom's voice. And even though she's probably a few hundred meters or like a few feet from us, a few hundred feet from us, I hear my mom's yelling, run. Run. At the top of her lungs. And she has now hung up the phone and is running to the beach to. To stand where our sandcastles are. And she didn't know because she didn't know if my dad had taken us back to the room or not. And at this point, the chaos is starting to build because you can see in the horizon is this thin white line that's getting bigger and bigger by the second, like, coming towards our island at a rapid speed. And as you're standing there, you can feel the who is shaking underneath us. And so she's yelling, run. And standing there where. There's where. Where our sandcastles are. And she pauses for this moment. She's like, God, where are they? And she hears this one word in the back of her mind, and it's flee. And she knows that we weren't on the beach, and she just had to trust the flea. And so she turns around and starts yelling. As she's doing this, she's yelling, run. And some people are listening to her, Some people don't know what to do. And the chaos is, like, building and building and building. And so she starts running down the path towards us. And I just. My mom is, like, one of the strongest people I know. And I just remember seeing the look in her eyes of fear. And I never seen that before. And I was 10 years old, so I was like, at that age where I could kind of understand what was going on. And I just see my mom filled with fear and her eyes are so big. And people at this point are smashing into each other and banging into each other and chaos. And people, like, grabbing each other's shirt and don't know what to do. All they know is they feel the ground shaking, and they see this now at this point, we could see it as this massive wave coming at our island at a rapid speed.

[Alex Clark]

So you looked back and you see the wave coming?

[Riley Kehoe]

Yes.

[Alex Clark]

And were you guys trying to get inside and go up a bunch of stairs to get to higher ground or what was going on there?

[Riley Kehoe]

So my mom and my dad gather us and my dad grabs one sister, my mom grabs the other. I'm the little, the, the eldest, but. And so I'm running as fast as my little 10 year old feet can behind them. And we run to the other side of the island because we're not sure, like we're thinking, you know, wave smashes on an island. Like maybe it won't reach us if we're on the other side. But the island was so small. So we run to the other side of the island and it was almost like the island, you could just tell the wave is just going to come completely over the island. So even we ran to the other side of the island. I can see the wave is just coming at us from what felt like all this, like, directions. And there was this one moment that I'll never forget. And there was this man. And the only way to get to this resort was by a, by a boat. And there was a man on a boat. And he climbs off the boat and he starts running because people at this point are understanding that there's a massive wave coming, a wave they've never seen, and they have to get to high ground. And so this man climbs off his boat and starts running towards us, hoping he's going to make it to high ground in time. But he is a few hundred feet from us and realizes, you see him have this moment where he stops and he realizes, I'm not gonna make it to the cliffs or the hills that are on either side of the island. Like I. And so he turns around and he starts running back onto his boat, climbs onto his boat and is trying to climb like inside underneath his boat to hide there. And this was the moment when I was like, I could die today. I see the wave come towards him and then smash him. And all I see is boat and body and blood just go everywhere. And this wave absolutely obliterated him. And I'm sitting there just thinking, I, I could die right now.

[Alex Clark]

Had you ever thought of death at 10 years old before this moment?

[Riley Kehoe]

No.

[Alex Clark]

Probably just like old people die, things like that.

[Riley Kehoe]

Like you grow old and like I was 10, I had a childhood full of innocence. Why would I need to think about death?

[Alex Clark]

And are you watching this man be blown to Pieces from the wave as you're running or are you paused looking?

[Riley Kehoe]

We paused and I looked back and I saw it.

[Alex Clark]

Did you say anything to your parents or you're just taking this all in?

[Riley Kehoe]

No, I'm just taking it all in. And then my mom looks at me and. And this was another coincidence which I feel like are just small miracles in which God chooses to remain anonymous. Is that day before my mom and I had gone for a walk. We were like, let's go explore the island. And we had found what we call in New Zealand, like a goat's path. But it means like essentially like a path up one of the hills. On either side of the island there's two hills. We found a path at one of the hills that was kind of like a beaten down path. Like it wasn't like a pretty path, but somebody had clearly like made a path so that you could climb up the hill. And so we went up that path a little bit the day before and then ended up going back down and meeting with our family and having lunch. And so in that moment when my mom said, and a whole family saw this man get obliterated, my mom looks at me and she's like, Riley the goat's path. And she knew, like, that's how we're gonna, we have to outrun this tsunami. Even though I'm 10 years old, I'm gonna have to run as fast as I possibly can. We may not, we may not make it. We've just, I mean at the. That was, that man was one death I saw, but it was one of many deaths I saw. And we just start running. We grab like, my mom's like, Riley go like. And she just, she kind of was trusting me to remember the. And I was just. In those moments, your, your body's on a, like adrenaline is pumping through your body. And Even though I'm 10 years old, my mind like remembers how to get exactly back to that path. And so here I am, this 10 year old little girl guiding her family to the path of maybe safety.

[Alex Clark]

And when you get up there, is there. Are you looking for things to hold on to, to brace yourself for the wave impact or what are you being told to do by your parents?

[Riley Kehoe]

So we're being told by our parents to run as fast as we can because we can see the tsunami. And the Tsunami was like 50 meters, which I don't even know what that is in feet, but it's, it's very high. It's like seven story high. Wave is running at us and we Know my mom and dad know, like, our hope is to get higher than the wave and to run up this. This hill as fast as we can and hope that we get high enough that the wave can't reach us. And so we're sprinting and we find. We like go through the forest. I'm guiding us. And we find that path up the. Up the hill. And I mean, just the sights and the sounds at this point, because at this point, the wave is on like the shoreline of the island and is just killing people right and left. And you hear just. Just something that you would imagine off a horror movie of screams and shouts. And I. I'm 10 years old. I'm a little curious little girl. And so there's this one point, we're running up the hill and I decide. I just. I just wanted to look back. And so I look back and I wish I never had.

[Alex Clark]

Why? What did you see?

[Riley Kehoe]

Because I saw just this wave just destroying people. And I saw people with no, they were. They didn't run fast enough and they had no other option but to turn and face the wave. And there they were. And the wave just takes their life in a matter of seconds.

[Alex Clark]

Do they just disappear underwater?

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah, they're just like. Imagine like a washing machine. Their body gets sucked in and then you just see blood and bits of bodies everywhere.

[Alex Clark]

Remember when you said that you saw that baby and that mother frozen in fear?

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah.

[Alex Clark]

What happened to them?

[Riley Kehoe]

I never saw them again.

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[Alex Clark]

Off. How long after going up that hill did it take for the water to reach you guys?

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah, so we ran up that hill and there was this one moment and I. This moment just. It's. It's funny how sometimes we get humor in the midst of chaos because I didn't know my little. My middle sister, Sierra, she's like, was one of those kids that like, wanted to be a vet growing up. And so she was thinking in the middle of chaos, not about the people, people, but about the poor little fish. Because the poor little fish's whole little home had just been taken away. All the water's gone. And so she. I don't even remember when she did this. She gets a bucket. She had filled it up with water. I don't even know how. I can't remember when she did this. So she did this and she had collected fish. And so here she is and my dad is holding her and she's holding these fish in this bucket. And my dad's like, let go, bucket. And she's like, no, the fishes will survive. And she's like, as my dad's running because he's like now carrying a lot of extra weight. And so as he's running up this hill, like you see the fishes because they're. We're running fast, so there's a lot of movement going on. And she's using this bucket to like collect the fish that keep flying out of the buck. Like, these fish are like, what the heck is going on? They're like trying to jump out. And she's like collecting them and like capturing them in the bucket. And so I just, I just was like in that moment, just smiled and. And then I get to that point where I, right after this is that point where I look behind and I see death and destruction happening. And I get this point where I just was like, my body just didn't want to. It just didn't. I was like, fear was just wanting me to stop. And all I wanted to do was just. Just sit down and, like, my body was exhausted. Sweat is dripping down my back. I've never run so fast and run so long in my life before. And I just wanted to stop. And my dad, he turns around to me and he's like, riley, run. And I just had to focus on the voice of my father. And so I just start running behind him. And then adrenaline kicks in even more, and I start running past my parents, and we run to the very, very top of this hill. And now we're at this point where the wave had just. Is just passing us. But there was a point when we were running up the hill where the wave was as close as you are to me right now. Now. And in other words, like, it. It. That's how close death was to me.

[Alex Clark]

So you barely missed the height of the wave.

[Riley Kehoe]

Barely. That's how close. Like, if we had not made a certain decision, like, one second later or sooner, like, that's how crazy close my life was being from. Taken being from me.

[Alex Clark]

How long did your family stay on this hilltop before deciding to go back down and like. Like, see what's going on?

[Riley Kehoe]

So we sit up on this hill, and there was another crazy thing, is that we're up on this hill, and all of a sudden it's like this big grass green patch. And all of a sudden another family runs up from the other side. And this was a family we had met four years prior, previously in Fiji.

[Alex Clark]

Weird.

[Riley Kehoe]

Isn't that wild?

[Unnamed Co-host]

Yes. So you're like, we know you.

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah. I remembered him because I thought the little boy was really cute. Cute. And I was like, you know, a little. Little, like, young kid with her first ever crush. And I'm like, here's my crush right now. And so we're just chilling on that. To answer your question, we were up on the grassy patch for about six hours. And on this grassy patch was. It was kind of like a hiker's hut. So some people would climb this, map this hill, and then stay in the hut for a night. And it was kind of like honeymoon vibes, but not as nice, like, you know, more bungalow, wooden vibes. So my sisters and I, we had. My mom was like, go see if you can find us water. Because we were up there. We didn't know how long we were going to be there for. And my parents were also just Trying to distract us from a task.

[Alex Clark]

Yeah, smart.

[Riley Kehoe]

From looking down, because you could see, if you looked one way, you could see the whole island. And so my sisters and I were like, yeah, we got this. We're thriving. So we, like, smashed through a window, we open the door. We, like, go into this hiker's hut. We're stoked because there's Coke. We're like, yeah, we're gonna drink some Coke. And just, like. Like, just so unaware in that moment of what's going on. Because as we were up there, and the reason we stayed up there for so long was we found a radio in the hiker's hut, and the Thai government had taken over all radio stations, and so they were updating everybody in Thai and in English that there was two more waves expected to come, because that day, three tsunami waves hit the island. And so we were up there, and we just stayed up there, just praying that we were hiring high enough. And thankfully we were, and we stayed up there, and my mom and dad were just, like, trying to give us tasks and, like, trying to distract us the whole time.

[Alex Clark]

Did you see the second wave and the third wave hit?

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah, I. I saw it from a distance, and then my mom noticed I was looking and was like, hey, Riley, like, let's go play a game over here. But I saw the wave coming in again, and each time, I mean, the force of this wave is massive. And so each time, you can feel the whole ground. It feels like an earthquake. The whole ground underneath us is shaking.

[Alex Clark]

You mentioned when the first wave hit that you could hear so much screaming.

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah.

[Alex Clark]

By the time the third wave hits, how much screaming did you hear?

[Riley Kehoe]

It was. It was definitely a lot more silent, because in each wave, thousands of people's lives are being taken. And if you hadn't survived the first, because there were some people that got hit by the wave and. And miraculously survived. Like, whether they dive deep underneath it or they weren't, because this wave is carrying debris and bodies and, like, wood and whatever it had from the. Like, the island, it had just struck before, because on the coast of Thailand is hundreds of islands. And so if you had miraculously survived the first wave, it. I mean, I don't know how many people, but it would have only been a handful of people that had somehow stayed on ground level and survived all waves.

[Alex Clark]

After the six hours, when you guys finally decide to descend, where do you go first?

[Riley Kehoe]

So we start walking down. And there. It was horrible, Alex. Like, just. I mean, the path that we had taken was now pretty Destroyed. So we had to be very careful as we were climbing down because the wave is strong enough to even like take down ground and debris and trees. And so we had to like kind of make our own way back down. And we only went back down to the mainland to the ground level because the Thai government had said no more waves, like you're safe, you're fine. And we still waited. My parents still decided to wait like an hour or two extra just to be like, careful. But at this point, no wave had hit in ours. And so we climb back down, we make it to the ground level and it was horrible. There were people walking around, missing limbs, there was just blood everywhere. And in this moment, as I said earlier, there was 22 of us on this island. And so I'm now with my family shouting out the names of my family. I'm shouting out my auntie's name and my cousin's name, not knowing where they are. And there was this one body that looked just like my cousin. And I run up to it and I like pull it. It was face down and I pull it face forward and just scream. And it wasn't my cousin, but there was this, this young boy that was around the same age as my cousin whose body was just barely looked like a body. And there was. People walked around like, like ghosts, like they were just so disassociated.

[Alex Clark]

Did you see children looking for their parents?

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah, a lot of children and a lot of children who will like never meet their parents again. And yeah, there was now people who came rose a beautiful holiday and ended up as orphans.

[Alex Clark]

What did you guys do as a family? Seeing some of these people looking for help or are you just like everybody's focused on themselves like we all are, you know, nobody knows what to do or are you trying to talk to people on the way or what happens?

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah, I think my parents focus was like, where is our family? And so we were just like running around trying to find our family. And we looked, we looked for hours and we couldn't find them. And so we.

[Alex Clark]

You didn't find anyone?

[Riley Kehoe]

No. And so we, we, we assumed death and we went back and the crazy and. And just to paint the picture a little more like buildings destroyed, like absolute rubble and boats and trees. There was a shark in the pool.

[Unnamed Co-host]

There was a shark in the pool.

[Riley Kehoe]

The shark was like surfing the wave or something and then was like, no way. Yeah, I, you. I remember that. The monkeys crushed it. And they survived, man, because they went up high. Yeah, yeah. And then they came back down but then they were like, there's not really many trees from the swing from. So now mostly monkeys on the ground, like, just walking around. They were, like, kind of psycho. Like, they're pretty aggressive. They were, like, attacking people.

[Alex Clark]

Where were people on the ground all heading to? I'm like, a hospital. Was the hospital still standing?

[Riley Kehoe]

This is a tiny island. Like, we are talking two resorts on this island.

[Alex Clark]

So where were people walking to?

[Riley Kehoe]

They were just trying to figure out where to go. Like, most people were walking back to where their room was, and every beachfront bungalow was absolutely destroyed.

[Alex Clark]

So everybody just kind of finds a central location. Everybody just starts gathering probably together, just. Yeah, I guess we just wait now.

[Riley Kehoe]

So what happened is not the hill that we were on, but the other hill, because people just wanted to be in high ground. They were, like, pretty scared to be on ground level now. So. So the other hill was where everybody was joining up and meeting. And so people. A lot of people were, like, walking around. If they weren't trying to find a family member or friend, they started walking up that hill. And that kind of became, like, the spot where the survivors were going to. And the crazy thing was, you see buildings destroyed, but one building stands, and it was our apartment building.

[Unnamed Co-host]

What?

[Riley Kehoe]

So we. The only thing we lost in terms of material items was my goggles that I left at the pool.

[Alex Clark]

That is absolutely miraculous.

[Riley Kehoe]

Yes. So we just. And my. The. The another thing that started happening is because people's stuff was. It was gone. There was, like, looting. Like, people were starting to steal things. And my dad, as I said, that moment when my mom is running towards us and we're about to go into the apartment, my dad had unlocked the apartment in, and then he saw my mom running towards us and had locked the apartment. And it's just like a crazy instinct thing that he did, but it meant that our apartment and all our stuff in our room was completely safe.

[Alex Clark]

And so did you guys just go back there and wait?

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah, so we went back there and we still had the radio. And the Thai government was like, you're fine. Like, if you find a bed, you can sleep. And so we had our beds. So I go. We go back, and my whole family, because we just. We were pretty quiet. And so we go back to our room, we climb up the stairs. We go into our room or top. It's like seventh story.

[Alex Clark]

Like, what time is it at this point?

[Riley Kehoe]

At this point, like, the sun is slowly starting to set.

[Alex Clark]

Okay.

[Riley Kehoe]

I remember climbing. Both my sisters went to bed, and I remember climbing into the shower. And I just had this like need to scrub my body. And I think it was just like this. I just wanted to scrub off. Like, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't want to have had experience that. And I wanted to like get rid of it. And I remember looking down on my, on my hand and I still don't know how this happened, but there was blood on my hand. Don't know whose blood it was. I think it was maybe when I was walking around and like trying to find my, my family members and like touching people. But I just remember scrubbing my, my arm until like I turned it red and I went, went to sleep and my mom and dad like kiss us and I put on these PJs and they were like red and white PJs that I had gotten the day before at Christmas. And as I'm falling asleep, I just think I am not the same girl the last time I wore these PJs.

[Alex Clark]

And it felt very profound for a 10 year old to realize that.

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah, it felt like I'm, I knew something had changed. And to this day I'm still processing it, but it took me many years to realize how much had changed. And so we go to sleep and then all of a sudden, a few hours later, a man is knocking on our door telling us another tsunami is coming.

[Alex Clark]

Now wait a minute.

[Riley Kehoe]

So what had happened? And we are like chaos mode. So my dad's like, I'm like so exhausted. My little body's like, can I just go to sleep? And so I pull my body out of bed and I'm still wearing my little red and white PJs. And we start running to following this Thai man and he's like, another tsunami is coming. Another tsunami is coming. What had happened is, we later found out, is that because the, the tsunami just disrupts the tide so much, it had ended up being like a chaotically fast and rapid high tide. And so it wasn't like a wave, it was just like water started covering the island. It was just like an overflow. The whole like, I'm sure scientists can explain this so well, but like the whole water and like tide system just.

[Alex Clark]

Started flooding even more.

[Riley Kehoe]

It just started flooding the island. It was like this massive really quick high tide. And so we follow this time in, we don't really know what's going on, but we're thinking, now the tsunami is coming. My body is like feeling like the tiredness of oh no, not again. And so we follow this Thai man and he, it's in the. Okay. It's probably 2am right now. And we're following him. He has a flashlight. We're barefooted, going through a forest. And there comes this point where he starts like running through very thick forest. And my dad and mom like look at each other and we're like, do we trust this random man? Like he could be. We don't know. We can't see anything. There's no lights, no electricity. And so my mom and dad like look at each other and they just nod and they're like, let's just. We gotta trust. Trust the stranger. So he, we start following this man up through this hill and he takes us to where all the other survivors were. And it's. This place was even higher than the place that we had been earlier in the day. The little grassy patch that we had stayed for six hours. And he, he run, like, runs us to all the other survivors and he just turns around and salutes us and walks off. It was just such a random encounter. And then we hear somebody yelling our names and there's every single one of my family members.

[Alex Clark]

All 22 people made it.

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah.

[Alex Clark]

No way. Oh my gosh.

[Unnamed Co-host]

Riley. Wow.

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah. All of them made it.

[Alex Clark]

And so is everybody just hugging and crying? Yes. What was it like?

[Riley Kehoe]

It was, it was like my heart was overwhelmed. Like it was just. We ran up to each other and hugged each other and just sat there and I mean the odds of every single one of them surviving, of all of us surviving is crazy. When there was like on our particular island with such little amount of survivors and there they are and it's so they all have their own stories and it's crazy.

[Alex Clark]

Like what were some of them, like what were they doing?

[Riley Kehoe]

I'll tell you one story. So my eldest cousin, he had. They'd gone. So they had been running up that hill on. That's how they survived. They ran up the other hill. And my eldest cousin, who was, I think he was around 18, he had. When the first tsunami had hit, he had turned around and said to his parents, I need to go back back. I feel like there's survivors down there. So he had gone back down despite like him facing death and not knowing, like he didn't know if there was another tsunami gonna happen or like what were, what was happening on the ground level. And he had gone down and found a five year old boy who had somehow been hit by the wave, covered in cuts, but had survived by clinging to a palm tree. This little five year old boy. And what happened is his parents his mom thought the dad had the little boy, the dad thought the mom had the little boy and they just miscommunicated and in the chaos had just run and not realize that their little five year old boy, little blonde eyed, blue eyed boy was just clinging to a tree and miraculously survived. And so my cousin goes up, grabs this little kid that like clings to him like a beer, like a beer hug. And he walks this little boy back up to where the hill that we were at and the mom and dad like run up, like they see their little son and they just rip their son off my cousin and never say thank you.

[Alex Clark]

Oh my God.

[Riley Kehoe]

I know. I think they were just in shock and like, I think they were just so angry at each. Like there was just probably so much going on. We still want to do the things without even getting gratitude, like are we still willing to do it even though someone doesn't say thank you to us? And my cousin showed me like that's, that's beauty right there. Like that's humanity. That was the only person he from, I know that he had rescued. But there's a five year old little boy right now that's turning 25 right now, that's alive because of my cousin because he miraculously survived the first tsunami, but I doubt he would have survived the second.

[Alex Clark]

How long did it take you guys to get off the island then? How long till help started coming?

[Riley Kehoe]

I mean the, the chaos was not even close to being over. We, long story short, we stayed on the island for a week and the next day. So we slept that night with my cousins. Like I'm like snuggled up to my like auntie, like just unbelievably grateful. And we wake up the next day and there was like this random moment. Well all of a sudden frogs come out in the middle of nowhere and just start like singing through the night. And I'm like, the frogs are even stoked they're alive. And so we, we, the next day we get like only a few hours of sleep. But the next day we walk back down and the survivors, like all of us survivors, like kind of just come together and we get all the bags that we can find and we line them up on the beach. And there was a site I remember seeing of just hundreds of bags lined up and maybe one or two people came to collect their bags and the rest were just evidence of people who will never collect their bags and never can. And that day, one boat came and so my cousins and my aunties, they jump on that boat and we Say goodbye to them, which was so hard because I feel like I just, I just gotten them back.

[Alex Clark]

Why were you having to say goodbye to them? Why weren't you guys all leaving together?

[Riley Kehoe]

Because my parents decided that they wanted to stay with the Thai people and help them rebuild their lives.

[Unnamed Co-host]

Wow.

[Riley Kehoe]

Yes. I mean, were you furious?

[Unnamed Co-host]

Now 10 year old Alex would have.

[Alex Clark]

Been a brat, freaking out, throwing.

[Unnamed Co-host]

I am not staying. I mean, I think when I was 10 years old, I was complaining about.

[Alex Clark]

Staying in like an Econo Lodge or something. I was like, this is disgusting.

[Unnamed Co-host]

And like, this is what you're going through.

[Alex Clark]

I mean, that really puts it into perspective.

[Riley Kehoe]

No, no, I was pissed at my mom for sure. I was like, what the heck? Heck? Like, I was like, what? What are we doing?

[Alex Clark]

She said, we're going to stay.

[Unnamed Co-host]

Our family is staying.

[Alex Clark]

And it was there food, was there electricity?

[Unnamed Co-host]

What was going on?

[Riley Kehoe]

No.

[Alex Clark]

So what was the plan?

[Riley Kehoe]

I mean, my parents are radical. They wanted to teach us that in like death and destruction and chaos, you, your natural response is like, I'm out on my own. Everybody else, you're on your own. But my parents wanted to teach us like humanity is like us coming together. Like there's this, this African word, it means ubuntu, means I am, because we are. And, and we, like my parents are trying to teach us that like, we are, like, it's not just, it's our decisions don't just impact us. We have to be there for the people around us. And like the greatest type of courage is the courage to care for others. And my parents decide to say, despite just not having food, not having water, not having like electricity, but they were like, no, we have to choose these people. And it was, I mean, it spoke volumes to us as kids. I mean, we won't understand.

[Alex Clark]

So this was for how long? Long for a week. Okay, so for that week, what were you doing?

[Riley Kehoe]

So my sisters and I were pretty much most the day playing in the apartment. We're trying to keep ourselves entertained. And I watch each morning my dad comes and he kisses me on my forehead and I watch him leave and he goes for hours. And my mom was like, either with us or she'd sometimes go out with my dad. And then he come back so quiet. And I, I know that he was moving bodies, that he was doing just dirty and, and really sad things. And the people that were working on the, on the, that were like staff at the resort, the ones that had survived were like trying to clean up this resort that was now destroyed. And my dad Would, like, come home. And he would be like, look, I found you something exciting. And he'd be like, showing me a wallet, but I'm like, whose wallet is this? And, you know, it's from somebody who didn't survive. Or he'd be like, oh, I found goggles. They're not your goggles, but they're somebody else's. And it was just, like, collecting, like, little pieces of lives no longer. And he was just trying to, like, give us some things to, like, play with, but they were really not toys I ever wanted. And my. It gets to this point, so we. What we had done is we had a certain amount of water in our room that was already there, so we used that to drink. And we had a handful of rice that we were, like, kind of living on. But it was definitely getting to that point where we were getting starved. Like, I was. I've never been that hungry. And. And my parents, I think, well, we thought, like, another boats would keep coming, but they weren't. And so we had no way of getting off the island. Each day is passing by and passing.

[Alex Clark]

By and asking your parents, when are we going home?

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah. And they're like, soon, honey, soon. Like, you know, they don't know. And so then it gets to a week later, finally, another boat comes, A rescue boat comes. And the. At this point, we had lost a man who was a survivor who'd been on the island with us because of starvation. We lost another person because of food poisoning. So here are people who had already survived something so horrendous, and now we're losing their lives because of just the conditions. Yeah, basic necessities.

[Alex Clark]

What do you think was worse or more difficult to get through the 10 days of starvation after the tsunami or the tsunami itself?

[Riley Kehoe]

I think the 10 days, because I was waking up in the night with the most horrible nightmares. Like, one night I woke up and I had, like, just jumped out of my bed and smashed the bedside table right next to me. And my, like, hand cut up. And my mom runs into the room with me, and she's just like, riley, like, when you get a nightmare, you need to say this. The peace of God that transcends all understanding. Guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus. And so that would be my thing. Like, I'd wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares, and I would just say that scripture over myself over and over again. And that's still something I do to this day, having survived something like that. I mean, I've dealt with PTSD and my body still carries that trauma and responds sometimes in certain ways. And that was like, the start of it.

[Alex Clark]

So when you finally got to go home. Home?

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah.

[Alex Clark]

What were your parents telling you about leaving the island and now going home?

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah. They were like, all right, girls, like, it's time to go home. We really wanted to show you that it's important to care for others in in chaos. And now it's getting to that point where wisdom is saying it's time to go.

[Alex Clark]

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[Unnamed Co-host]

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[Alex Clark]

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[Unnamed Co-host]

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[Alex Clark]

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[Unnamed Co-host]

Reminisce with me. 2006 middle school, it's Christmas break. You've got your friends over to watch that classic holiday movie. Maybe it. Maybe it's something on the Hallmark channel. Really? The point is, you're gonna hang out with boys, okay? You know, just to be nice. And what's the first thing that you grab from the pantry to impress them? Well, at the time, probably some of those, you know, regular popular brand tortilla chips, salsa. It's the go to the classic, the safe choice. Well, fast forward to today. You've done a little more research. Turns out the seed oils in those chips, canola, vegetable, soybean, are actually wreaking havoc on your body. They cause inflammation and awful, sluggish feeling that makes you want to curl up with a blanket and take a nap after every snack. Not cute. So now you're doing better for you and your kids. That's why we're all about Masa chips now. These chips are made with organic corn, grass fed beef, tallow and Redmond real salt. Simple clean ingredients that you can feel good about. No seed oils, no junk, just real food that tastes as good as it feels. And trust me, the crunch, it is the best seed oil free chip out there. Like honestly, the other one ones are gross in comparison. I, I just don't like them. I tried seed oil free chips, I was like, I, I don't think I can do this. When I tried mas, I was like, okay, I can do it. The really Tan man and olive oil queen. They are the founders of Masa chips and they love snack food. Just they're not happy with what's currently available out there. So they created something better. Use code Real Alex Clark for 20% off your first order@masa chips.com that's real Alex Clark for 20% off your first purchase of Masa Chips for a healthier, tastier snack that doesn't make you feel like you need a nap. Let me tell you something. If you think you can just toss any old piece of meat on the grill and call it dinner, you are sadly mistaken. I am a ribeye steak and I don't do cheap. I'm luxury, baby. The finest marbled perfection. And frankly, I don't associate with anything less than good ranchers. You see, when you're talking about American meat, you better be talking about good ranchers. They don't mess around. They bring you the highest quality cuts with no antibiotics, no hormones, and certainly no seed oils. Just pure, clean, mouth watering meat. And don't even think about comparing meat to that imported nonsense that you're getting at the grocery store. I'm from local ranches that care about their animals, their land and their reputation. That's why I'm so tender and so flavorful. It's called class. And don't get me started on the convenience.

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[Unnamed Co-host]

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[Alex Clark]

Do you think you would make the same decision keeping your kids on the island for those 10 days?

[Riley Kehoe]

This is gonna sound crazy, but, yes, because I live in the ripple effect of their decision. It impacts me every day. Like. Like, even on the way here, the Uber driver, he starts telling me about his divorce and is crying to me, and I pray for him. Like, I think those moments, those, like, moments of having the courage to care was shown to me by my parents. And now every day, I'm looking for those opportunities, too, no matter what the sacrifices, because I saw my parents sacrifice so much, not even sure if, like, we as a family would survive. And so we get on the boat and off the boat. The. The boat that came to pick us up is a. A lot of world visions. World Vision. It's a charity. They do a lot of natural disaster relief work. And so I remember this woman jumps off the boat and runs up to me. I don't know why she picked me, but she runs up to me and grabs me and starts praying over me. I thought it was just the sweetest response. And here's this woman. She didn't survive the tsunami. It's my first person I had met in many days that hadn't had the same experience as me and wasn't feeling in their body the same way. And she just held me and prayed over me. She was wearing, like, an orange World Vision shirt. And. And she takes us back to the mainland, and we go to the hospital, because now our flight is about to take us home to New Zealand. And we go into the hospital, and the hospitals become, like, the hub. Like, it's just. There is hospital beds everywhere. People, like, a lot of people that were survivors came to the airport to find, like, the person they were missed that. That they were missing. And, like, it became the hub. And so we're at this airport, and you see on the wall, holes is just paper. And people had written, like, the names of the people that they were missing or they. They thought were maybe dead. And I see this one moment, so I'm just sitting there waiting I hear, like, the noise of the airport in the background of people, like, announcing planes coming. Sitting there on this wooden bench, and I see these two people, a man and a woman, and they're looking at the names, and they're, like, a few feet from each other, and they're looking at the names and they're getting closer and closer and closer, closer. They bump shoulders and they look at each other, and that was the person they were trying to find.

[Alex Clark]

Stop right now.

[Riley Kehoe]

And they just grab each other, hug each other, and fall down to the ground in tears.

[Alex Clark]

Oh, wow, That. I mean, that is like a movie.

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah. This day and this is. Days have passed.

[Alex Clark]

So when, by the time you touch down in New Zealand and it's the first night in your own bed, you're walking into your home, what does it feel like?

[Riley Kehoe]

I was so grateful to be in my own bed for sure, but I was so, honestly, I felt like a little bit of a zombie. Like, and my parents wisely. I don't know if I feel like this was something they found from the Bible, but for the first 30 days after we got back home, we did nothing.

[Alex Clark]

Like, I was wondering that.

[Riley Kehoe]

What.

[Alex Clark]

What did the days after being home look like?

[Riley Kehoe]

We kind of just. We lived on the farm. That's what we returned to. And. And we. School was happening again. Like, summer holidays was over. Summer in New Zealand is Christmas. Opposite seasons to America. So school was backing up, running, but my parents had called the teachers and. And been like, hey, we're gonna just keep her. And there was. We were one of the very few Kiwi, like, New Zealand families that had survived. So there was a lot of attention on our family.

[Alex Clark]

Was there press and stuff outside your house?

[Riley Kehoe]

House, yeah. Not us at our house. Our house is in the middle of nowhere, like the farm. But, like, when we got back to the airport and we got, like. When we landed and. And then my parents. My. Like, my dad was a CEO of a company. My mom works at the biggest church in New Zealand. And so there was a lot. Like, we ended up going to church. And I. I don't know why, but in my mind, I could understand, even though I was 10 years old, that people wanted a story of hope. And I started, like, grandmas would come up to me and be like, tell me the story. But I just gone home a few days ago, and I was just, like, not ready for it. So I start telling this story of, like, hope and, like, not really what, like, how I actually felt about it, but I was using joy as, like, my protective mechanism. Because I was too young and I don't think I had the resources to like actually really, really sit in the grief of what happened. And I think that, that, that me truly authentically processing it happened when I was 22, sitting across the room like a coffee shop in a coffee shop with my spiritual mentor. And she says, tell me the story truly. And like now I tell the story truly. But back then I, I knew people wanted a story of like hope but they, I, I, I somehow in my 10 year old mind was like, how are they going to understand this story if I tell them how it actually was? Because they might actually walk away with like a little bit of secondhand trauma.

[Alex Clark]

How long did it take for you to feel normal again?

[Riley Kehoe]

I think years. I think that first year was just me surviving and like kind of somehow trying to get back into normal, even though normal didn't feel normal anymore.

[Alex Clark]

Was your family talking about it? Like were you guys, were the kids allowed to, were you asking questions like mom and dad, why did this happen to us? Things like that? Or was it like something you all didn't discuss?

[Riley Kehoe]

We didn't honestly, we didn't honestly discuss it that much. And I think part of it had to do with the culture that we grew up in. Like a New Zealand culture is kind of like, oh, throw it under the rug, you'll be fine. Like move on. And we did talk about it, but I think maybe we talked about it more than I can remember, but I just don't remember talking about it that much much.

[Alex Clark]

Even at 10, did you struggle with any survivor's guilt?

[Riley Kehoe]

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. So I took survivor's guilt and I took it as this like motive for life. Like from 10 years old onwards I was trying to carpe diem every single day and that like now I practice Sabbath, I turn my phone off on Sundays, but it has, it can me two decades to get to that point where I'm like, no, actually productive can be rest. But back then I was like 10 years old. Like I survived this thing and I was one of the few survivors and so I started hustling like at a little 10 year old. I started like collecting shoes for like secondhand shoes for the orphanage that we'd been to right before the tsunami. I started like fundraising money to send back to the resort so they could rebuild the home. And I was like, I was pretty confident little kid. Like I was going up to people like, you want to help me with this? And as I look back, I think my safe place was my pony Charlie And I would, like, I was going to school, being friends over, and everyone would call me at school, like the school counselor, because they start sharing their, like, things with me. Because I felt like I had. I. I couldn't maybe understand. Never been through their story, but I've been through their feelings. Feelings. And so I started using feelings as, like, this common ground with people. But the place that I could be, really how I felt was I would come home from school, throw on my little rain boots, my little gum boots, I run out to my horse, and I had this cute, little chubby little horse pony named Charlie. And he would do this thing where he just, like, wrapped me around and hug, and I would tell him how I really felt.

[Alex Clark]

In the depths of. Of all of the destruction that you witnessed, what stuck out the most, I think Jesus.

[Riley Kehoe]

And. And this is why. So one moment I want to share is that when we got to the top of the grassy hill and the wave was as close as you and I are, and we had. And I had just passed us, and I wait. I watched the wave pass us and go further into the island. I got down on my knees and I prayed, and I just shouted out to God. And I remember. Just don't remember all the words, but I remember saying something along the lines of, like, God, I don't understand what just happened, but I need you. And I felt this, like, tangible peace wrap around me. It was like, as if, like, someone came up on a really cold day and, like, wrapped a warm blanket around you. Like, that's what it felt. And I feel this, like, peace. And even though there's years of healing to come ahead of me, there was peace that was with me this whole time. And I think it was such a gift to have had faith from such a young age and to also have this sort of, like, I don't understand it. God. But then there's a sovereign God that has your life in control. And so it wasn't up to me to, like, figure things out and control things and. And honestly make sense of everything. Because there's sometimes. Sometimes, you know, people listening to this right now, there's. Sometimes you've. You're going through your own tsunami and you're going through your own unexpected and difficult thing. And there's. You sometimes don't feel like you have closure on everything, but then to know that there's a God that has plans to prosper you and not to harm you, I had to, like, fight to believe that God was loving and kind. And if. No ma. Even though, like, My mentor says, like, the most important question to ask yourself is, who do you believe God to be? And even though I. I had gone through something really hard, did I believe that God was loving, and was he gonna take me through this event and ultimately make me stronger through it and show his love through it?

[Alex Clark]

What were your feelings towards going to the ocean after this?

[Riley Kehoe]

Absolutely terrified. Heck, no. No, thank you. Like, do not get me anywhere close to the ocean.

[Alex Clark]

Were you swimming, like, even in a pool or you were away from water? No baths. Like, what were you. I mean, really going. Going through bass.

[Riley Kehoe]

I remember having, like, sometimes I'd get flashbacks, but, like, it was the ocean. I feel like I could just go to the difference. I could understand the difference between, like, salty water and regular water. And it was like, the ocean. I was like, no, I do not know. I don't want to be near it.

[Alex Clark]

And your parents had a very interesting way of. Of getting you to deal with that. What did they tell you that you were going to be doing?

[Riley Kehoe]

So they're like, like, whatever. Six months or a year later, they're like, sit us down. And they're like, girls, we have enrolled you in beach lifeguard training. And I was like, what?

[Unnamed Co-host]

After surviving a tsunami, your parents need to write a parenting book. This is the. They have the most interesting parenting approaches I've ever heard, but in a great way.

[Alex Clark]

This is phenomenal. Like, I don't think any modern parents would. Would think to.

[Riley Kehoe]

To do this.

[Alex Clark]

So they say you're going to be doing in. What is it called?

[Riley Kehoe]

Beach lifeguard training. So you're literally going to be training during summer to be a lifeguard on.

[Alex Clark]

The beach and save people from drowning.

[Riley Kehoe]

Huh. And swim in the ocean.

[Alex Clark]

How did that go?

[Riley Kehoe]

Well, I had a lot of anger I had to work through, but I think my parents, honestly, they really crushed it as parents. And they were really good at teaching us, like, honestly, like, obedience. Like, just trust.

[Alex Clark]

Wow.

[Riley Kehoe]

Which is really. Because they see, like, the goal as parents to be to teach your children obedience, because if they're obedient to your earthly parents, they're going to be obedient to their heavenly father. And, like, God's love language is obedience. And so I. I just remember being, like, angry, and I was able to express it, but I was still, like, I just had so much trust. My parents at this point had been good parents. And so even though I didn't understand it and I expressed my lack of understanding, I trusted them. And so, you know, months go by, and I'm terrified. I'm like, geez, I know that day's coming. I'm like, this is the day. I'm like, I don't want to do this. So that day shows up, and it's the first day of training. I wake up. I had had a horrible nightmare. I had had a nightmare that the tsunami had swallowed me. And my hair is a complete mess. I'm like, nervous peeing like 10 times. And my. I'm looking in the mirror, and my dad, he sees me. And you, you know, he just can tell what's going on. And. And he comes up to me, gets down on his knees, he looks me in the eye. He goes, riley, you are fighting a battle between courage and fear. And all you need is a little more courage. And that, that, that. Those few words, a little more courage, like, has become my motto in life. Because everyone, Everyone listening to this right now, you're fighting a battle between courage and fear. It's an everyday thing. It might be like social anxiety or it might be like wanting to enroll in that job or like, it's just so many things, things. But we are fighting a battle. And like, fear does not. It does not stop, like death. It stops life. And my parents wanted me to live a life, like, a life with life. And so they. That my dad, like, has this saying in me, and it just. I was just. It did something to my heart in that moment. And even though I was so scared, we get in the car, we drive down, and we go to beach lifeguard training. We're like, we had bought a beach house, like, on the very, very top of a hill. Which I'm like, that was definitely decision motivated after tsunami. And it was like on the top of the hill. And we go back down. We go, we show up. And I remember walking around and being like, how's everyone so happy right now? Like, kids were so excited. And then this little girl named Rosie comes up to me and she's like, hi. And she's like, start chatting to me. And she's like, it's okay if you're quiet. You can just stand by me. Like, she just took care of me the whole summer because there were times when I would just, like, walk into the ocean and just like, turn around and just not want to touch the water.

[Alex Clark]

She was like your little guardian angel.

[Riley Kehoe]

No, I know. And she'd be, it's okay. And so there's one moment we, like, swim out, and it was like stormy day and the waves were really big. So I got scared and I ran back, I swam back in And I sat on the shore, and she comes up to me and she goes. She tells me, and she's like, We're 11. And she goes, riley, like, do you want to know a secret? And I was like, yeah, what? And she's like, when I get scared of something, I. I always want to close my eyes. I open my eyes, I try and find the beauty. And so that was like, my little.

[Alex Clark]

Thing in the world is your life, girl.

[Unnamed Co-host]

It's crazier, crazier.

[Riley Kehoe]

It's so precious, isn't it? Wow. Yes. It's what happens when you give God the pen.

[Alex Clark]

I love that. Give God the pen. I love that. As you grew up.

[Riley Kehoe]

Yes.

[Alex Clark]

What did you feel like God was calling you to do with your life?

[Riley Kehoe]

He was calling me to, like, live a life of courage, and he was calling me to help others live that life. To. I mean, just having done, like, experience the beach lifeguard training. And then I ended up becoming a beach lifeguard and lifeguarded for summers and summers and years and years and years. And there was this one story that I would love to share with you. So it's Valentine's Day, which is so sweet because I'm pregnant, and my baby's due date is Valentine's Day.

[Unnamed Co-host]

Oh, my gosh.

[Riley Kehoe]

And I feel like God does something special on Valentine's Day. And so this is years after that. I. I had been now a lifeguard for years. And I'm at my beach house, and it's a stormy day. I'd gone there to study because I'm super people person. And if I. If I'm around people, I, like, get no study done. So I'd taken myself out, like, to our beach house in this quiet, tiny little beach town. And I. I decided even though it's stormy, to go for a swim. And I. When I'm out there swimming and nobody else is on this beach, when I'm out there swimming, I noticed that, like, there's huge rip tides. And it was kind of like I was freaking out a little bit from being out there swimming. Huge riptides, massive waves. And I'm like, this is dangerous. What am I doing right now? So I come back in, and I sit on the beach. And for some reason, I just felt this, like, inclination to wait a little bit. And then all of a sudden, I hear this man yelling, help.

[Alex Clark]

Help.

[Riley Kehoe]

And I look out to him, and he's pointing out at a man that's way out past the waves, that's drowning. And instincts kick in, and my years of training kick In. But then I start running to go and, like, attempt to help this man, and knowing that I just been in the water and I barely went out deep, and it was already really dangerous. And this man is so far out there. He's way past these massive waves. And I had this moment where stop right before the water. And I was like, what am I doing? Should I do this? And. And all the things of, like, the instincts of training and then the instincts that my parents had put in me of, like, having the courage to care. And I just stood there and I counted to three, and I was like, at the point that I say three, I'm going in this water. Because fear was, like, coming back up in me, and it was like this stormy day, and it was just, like, I was just feeling so much, and. And like, sometimes I get flashbacks and I was getting a flashback of the tsunami and thinking, what if I die? Like, I was. All these things were going through my head. And so I counted a 3. 3. And I stepped into the water. I start running out to this man, and then I'm swimming out to him. And thankfully, that day, I had brought with me, like, flippers, like, fins. And so I put them on, and they're just, like, so helpful to get me there, to reach this man quicker. And when I'm about, like, 50 meters from him, I realized he's. He put his head. They do this thing when you're drowning. It's called, like, climbing the ladder, where you're like. Like moving your hands up and down like you're climbing a ladder. And he had stopped doing that, and his head was now on the ground in the water. I mean. And as I'm getting closer and closer, his body starts dripp. Drifting underneath the water to the bottom. And I dive down and I grab him and I pull him up on my chest, and I. I'm yelling at him. No response. And I'm checking. Checking his pulse, and I can't. Found a pulse. He had drowned.

[Alex Clark]

Oh.

[Riley Kehoe]

And so I had this moment where I counted three again. And I'm like, I will not give up on you. You are not done. And so I grabbed this man, even though he was. He was a large man. And I pull him on top of me, and so start CPR on his chest.

[Unnamed Co-host]

In the.

[Alex Clark]

In the water.

[Riley Kehoe]

In the water.

[Alex Clark]

How do you do that?

[Riley Kehoe]

You, like, pull the person on top of you, and you're behind them pumping into their chest, and then you pull them over, and then you blow into their mouth. And my fins are, like, working, like I was like grateful I'd fin so it was like little bit easier for me to say deep water. Yeah, very deep water. And he all of a sudden throws up and comes and literally comes back to life, this man. And so I grab him and I start pulling him back, but then these waves are coming in. At one point I lose him and I have to like dive under and grab him. I'm like, you are staying with me, you're surviving. And I pull this man and he was a German tourist swimming in jeans in the ocean and pull him onto the shore. And another crazy coincidence happened. Another small miracle is the this is a small beach town on a stormy day. It happened that the local doctor also wanted to go for a walk at this time.

[Alex Clark]

Oh my God.

[Riley Kehoe]

Seen this whole thing happen and thought to himself, dear God, there's going to be two deaths today. Called the ambulance and said, prepare for two bodies. Because he saw me running out to rescue this man and saw that man think, you're both gonna die. So the ambulance is already on its way. He comes over to us. Because I'm trained on how to like rescue this man out of the water, but I'm not trained on like how to take care of his body after having just like been like his heart stopped and then it came back. Like I don't know what to do. So this man takes over and he like helps this man recover. The ambulance shows up like a minute later and I walk away from this, from this. And the man as the man that had rescued, as he's been put in the ambulance just turns to me and says, thank you. And as I'm walking away, walking back to my beach house, like to go that I was studying law at this point, I'm like to go back to my law studies. I just remember thinking, I did it. The place that was once a place of death is now a place of victory. And I want to teach everyone to turn their place that reminds them of death and destruction. The place that they're terrified of, the person, the opportunity that they're terrified of. I want them to turn their that into a place of victory and to use like just something as simple as three seconds of courage. Like it takes three seconds of courage to call somebody, to say yes, to say please forgive me. All these like tiny micro moments of courage. Just three seconds and our whole lives can be radically changed.

[Alex Clark]

You mentioned you're pregnant, it's your first child.

[Riley Kehoe]

Yes.

[Alex Clark]

You're married, you're a missionary. Talk about what is going on in your life now. All These years later and it is the, it is the 20th anniversary now of the 2004 tsunami.

[Riley Kehoe]

I mean I would just be so stoked if my little 10 year old self could see my life today because it wouldn't necessarily be the things that I had done. It would just be who I was. And like she would meet me and she would know we did it. Like we, we no longer are controlled by fear and we like live a life of joy. But my life right now, I've been married for almost two years, years and I travel to speak. I have my first book coming out soon and I, yeah, I just feel like my life is just, it's an obedient life to God. And it just. Every season has looked so different. I first came to America to do my masters in Global Leadership and like I worked for a homeless shelter for a little bit, helped them like raise money, like millions of dollars for safe house women and children. Because I'm constantly trying to look for the person that's vulnerable, like for the person that needs somebody else to help them because that was once me. I was once that young girl on a beach that needed people from World vision to come and rescue them or needed. I was also that older woman that like needed my spiritual mentor to, to like teach me how to tell my story authentically. And so like we all need each other. And so like I am just trying to find those moments to help others. And my husband and I did something kind of crazy earlier this year. We were living in San Diego and the crazy thing, one of the crazy things about my life is I. My favorite thing in the world is to surf and that. I would have never said that when I was 10 years old, but I love surfing. And we were living in this beach town, Encinitas in San Diego, and just had been married for a year. And we were just like, we can give so much more in life and like our life at the end of it is measured by not what we gain and not what we grab, but what we give. And so we kind of did something crazy and we both quit our jobs. We sold absolutely everything we packed to bags and we've spent the last nine months traveling around the world doing service work and mission work and just our lives have been changed by living in slums and, and being with people. And like one of my favorite moments this year was we were living in a slum in Rio, Brazil for several weeks that was built on the third largest trash dump in the world. And it was 22, 000 people lived in the slum. Slum. It was completely run by gangs. Police wouldn't even enter the slum. And we just went door to door with this family that sold everything to be in the slum and be there. And we just like, helped people in whatever way they needed and just went. And then we were in Uganda serving people there. And just like, I feel this year has just been learning from people. It's not about like, oh, let me go there and do the good thing. So I feel good. Good. I think doing the good thing is the right thing. Like the doing the caring thing is the right thing, but also like, let me go and learn from cultures and people as we travel.

[Alex Clark]

Have you ever been back to Thailand since.

[Riley Kehoe]

Yes, yes. And this Christmas right now, we will be in Thailand.

[Alex Clark]

Oh, my God.

[Riley Kehoe]

At the same resort?

[Unnamed Co-host]

At the same resort.

[Riley Kehoe]

That's what my mom wanted for her 60th birthday.

[Alex Clark]

When the movie the Impossible came out. What did your family say about it? Did you guys go see it? Did everybody say not gonna watch it?

[Riley Kehoe]

I watched it, but at the time I was living in California, so I wasn't with my family. I think my whole family had. They've all seen the movie, but we were like older and we were in different parts of the world at this point. When the movie first came out and I watched it, it was so hard for me. I've only watched it three times and I'm happy if I don't watch it again because it's. It's really hard to watch.

[Alex Clark]

How. How accurate was it to what happened?

[Riley Kehoe]

Oh, it's spot on. It's so, you know, when movies can be like, Hollywood can take something and make it more dramatic. They did not at all with this. They absolutely so accurate to the goriness and. And devastation that the tsunami was.

[Alex Clark]

Have you ever met the family that that movie is about?

[Riley Kehoe]

No, I haven't.

[Alex Clark]

Have you ever met any other survivors from the tsunami?

[Riley Kehoe]

We met all the people. I've never actually gone like since the tsunami met another survivor, but we were with all the survivors rivers when we're on the island. But one lady that was on the island with us, she made like news all around the world. And she was this Swedish lady that while. So we were on the same island while the tsunami was happening. When the water left, she was on the beach, the same beach we were on. And she. Her kids were snorkeling. So they were way out in the ocean and now they're are standing on sand surrounded by fish, flopping around everywhere with a tsunami coming towards Them. And the mom doesn't, instead of like running for herself towards high ground, runs towards the tsunami and attempts to rescue her children. The first wave hit, she doesn't reach her children. Somehow her and all her children survive. She keeps running towards. She's cut up, bruised and bloody, keeps running towards the tsunami and then running towards the second tsunami and gets her children and they managed to make it out before the second tsunami hits. And why she made news articles all around the world is because somebody took a photo of her, this small blonde Swedish lady running towards the wave and there she is, tiny little woman with this massive wave overhead above her. And someone took this photo and it like made news everywhere.

[Alex Clark]

What is the hardest thing for you about being a natural disaster survivor?

[Riley Kehoe]

Having to have grace on myself when sometimes I still feel the fear come up. Like for example, a few months ago a friend told a story and it was, it was about like someone getting their arm cut off and it just got me back there and all of a sudden I, I don't even know how I ended up, I was just like, end ended up in the, like the bathroom on the ground, staring at the wall. And my husband's like, are you okay? Those moments that you're just get, you get ptsd. I think it's just having so much grace on myself and it's beautiful because as I look back, those moments are getting less and less. My body is like slowly learning to live its life or like I'm learning to live a life without that constantly like disrupting my everyday life.

[Alex Clark]

People that go through incredible. You've obviously done amazing things with your life. You're married, you have a baby coming. But still that's something that probably forever you will have to deal with somewhat. And I think that's important for people to understand. Tell us about your new book that's coming out next month.

[Riley Kehoe]

Yeah, so I have a book, it's called Three Seconds of Courage. And I wrote this book just because I, as I said earlier, like fear, it doesn't stop death, it stops life. And we're all going through our own fear. And there's so much fear. It feels like a fear like rich environment in America. And I want to, my book is for the 18 to 30 year old who, who wants to live a life and, and who wants to, as my dad said, like a little more courage. I want people to like have a little more to say yes. The opportunity to move to the city they've been dreaming about to pursue the job. They want to like ask the guy out to say no, to change their friends and all those moments, those life changing moments, those moments that we need micro moments of courage. It, it requires three seconds of courage. And so I wrote this book and it's imagine like you and I are sitting across the coffee table and I just tell you my story and I share the tsunami story, but also to share, share many other stories of like when fear was trying to take over or when courage won, or my failure moments and my healing journey. And I just want people to take it. And it's like a very, very vulnerable book. Like I don't shy away from the hard stuff. There's a lot of humor in it and a lot of storytelling. But I give readers like tools so that they can live a life of courage and like helping them understand what's the difference between like healthy and hindering fear. Because there is healthy fear. There's the fear that God gave us. That's like a bodyguard, that's like, hey, don't walk down that alleyway and it's night time. But then there's also the hindering fear where we're actually, if we listen to that fear, if that fear keeps being in the driver's seat of our life, our life isn't going to reach the full potential and purpose that God has in for us. And then I talk about like making your courage breaking points further. And with us in our lives, we have these courage breaking points where, you know, you go into, you have social anxiety and you finally say yes to going to a birthday party and you go to the birthday party and that's your courage breaking point. But the next time you go to the birthday party and you make friends with somebody and it's like, how can we extend our life so our life has so much more courage and far less fear?

[Alex Clark]

Where can people go to pre order the book?

[Riley Kehoe]

Everywhere. Amazon, anywhere you go. Three Seconds of Courage by Riley Kehoe. You're gonna find it.

[Alex Clark]

Riley, if you could offer one remedy to heal a sick culture, what would it be?

[Riley Kehoe]

It would be to have the courage to care. Fear wants us to look within and, and stay within ourselves. And that soundtrack of fear is like preventing you and wanting you to not do something. But I just want to encourage you. For me, like, I faced my fear of the ocean because I realized someone else's life is on the line. And it was through like beach lifeguard training that I realized I can help somebody. And so I just want to encourage you. If you're feeling fear, don't just do it for yourself, do it for somebody else. Because on the other side of you, facing your fear is the gift of being out to help someone. And so I have this motto of, like, every day, find the one. And today I found it. It was the Uber driver who was like, crying and I was praying for him. But I think it's like finding those, looking around every day and being like, who is one person's life that I can help? And like, maybe it's your friend or maybe it's having the confidence to go and ask for that, for that. If you can pay for that woman's coffee or like telling that woman in the coffee shop that she looks beautiful today or that she is stronger than she. She thinks. And you just never know how much people need that. And so if we lived a life of like, looking beyond us and having the courage to care for people around us, especially those who are unlovable and especially strangers, I just couldn't. I know that this society, in this world would be a better place.

[Alex Clark]

What is your Instagram for people to follow you at?

[Riley Kehoe]

Riley with courage.

[Alex Clark]

Okay, so let me tell you something. I have interviewed hundreds of people at this point. This has been one of my top 10 favorite episodes. You are so unbelievably talented. This is so good. I'm so excited for your book and I hope people will buy it and support you and follow your little family on your journey. And now moving to America after doing all this mission work. And I just adore you. Thank you so much for coming on. Culture Apothecary, Carrie and Alex, I just.

[Riley Kehoe]

Want to say you are so classy and wonderful in the real deal. Like, I just know there's so many people out there that follow you and I just want to say those people that follow you, she is the real thing. Like, you have a pure heart. Like, I walk in and I. We meet and you straight away are asking me questions. You make it always about the other person. And you, like, love people so well and you have have, like, praise the Lord. You have this pl. Like podcast. You have this platform because you are worthy of it because of your character. Thank you. Riley, stop.

[Unnamed Co-host]

Merry Christmas to me and Merry Christmas to all of you.

[Riley Kehoe]

Thank you so much.

[Alex Clark]

Use some of your Christmas money.

[Unnamed Co-host]

Go and get Riley's new book pre order that it's going to be amazing.

[Alex Clark]

As you can see, she is an incredible storyteller and speaker.

[Unnamed Co-host]

I'm sure that her book is going.

[Alex Clark]

To to be phenomenal. New episodes every Monday and Thursday, 6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern. Anywhere you get your podcast of course.

[Unnamed Co-host]

You can watch the episodes on Spotify.

[Alex Clark]

By searching culture apothecary or YouTube real Alex Clark.

[Unnamed Co-host]

Please leave a five star review as my Christmas gift and you can, if you would like, be extra generous by.

[Alex Clark]

Donating by becoming a donor to the show. The link is in the show notes. Again, that is a tax deductible donation. Thank you. For the past couple of months this year we were able to rebrand and create Culture Apothecary healing a sick culture physically, mentally and spiritually. It has been phenomenal.

[Unnamed Co-host]

I can't wait for 2025. I'm Alex Clark and this is Culture Apothecary.