LONGMEADOW – Michael Tougias, a town native and author of at least 23 nonfiction books, will see one of his published works about a ship rescue, “The Finest Hours,” released across 45 countries as a feature-length Disney movie on Jan. 29, 2016.

“It’s a dream come true,” Tougias told Reminder Publications regarding the film adaptation, which features actors such as Chris Pine, Casey Affleck and Eric Bana.

He added the 2010 nonfiction book, “The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue,” was co-written with true crime author and journalist Casey Sherman and is based on the 1952 rescue of the crew of two oil tankers – that had both split in two – by the U.S Coast Guard off of Cape Cod during a nor’easter.

“I’ve written six books of survival at sea and incredible rescue and I stumbled upon this story when I was doing my very first one called ‘Ten Hours Until Dawn,’” Tougias noted. “I couldn’t believe that here was this rescue right on Cape Cod that was the greatest rescue in Coast Guard history and I knew about it and nothing had been written up about it since the 1950s. That’s what prompted me [to write the book.]

He continued, “Well into the research I got a call from [Sherman], who I had never met and he was said, ‘I’m looking at the same story. Maybe we should join forces?’ And so we did and it just seemed liked the stars aligned because when the book came out a local producer in Boston said, ‘This would be perfect for [a movie]’”

Tougias, who now lives in Mendon, said he wasn’t involved too much with writing the screenplay for the film, but the screenwriters frequently contacted him and Sherman with questions.

“There’s one scene in the movie that I wrote,” he noted, adding that he couldn’t reveal what the specific scene was about prior to the movie’s release.

Tougias also plans to release a new survival nonfiction book in May, 2016 entitled “So Close to Home: A True Story of an American Family’s Fight for Survival During World War II.”

The book recounts how a Nazi U-boat sunk a freighter in 1942 off the Gulf of Mexico with a crew of 59 people onboard, including the Downs family who struggled against sharks, hypothermia, drowning, and dehydration in a fight to survive in the aftermath of the attack.

He added the book, which is co-written with author Alison O’Leary, has chapters focusing on the Downs family perspective, but also from the U-boat commander’s point of view.

“We let the readers see what it was like to be onboard a U-boat and why they made the decisions they did,” he noted.  

For more information about Tougias visit www.michaeltougias.com.