“I lived a nightmare at Ground Zero but even a nightmare can turn into a happy ending if we refuse to give in to fear.” – Michael Hingson
Eighteen years have passed since one of the most tragic days in our country’s history. Eighteen years means that this year’s high school graduates were just babies or not even born yet on that day. They have never known anything other than a world where terrorism is something to constantly watch for. They have not known the joy of greeting a loved one just as they step off a plane. They have also not know a time where America did not have troops deployed to a war zone.
“Roughly three thousand children6 under age eighteen lost a parent on 9/11, including 108 babies born in the months after their father’s death.” – Mitchell Zuckoff
I was 22 years old when I waited several hours to hear if my father had made it out of the Pentagon – he did. However, if the attacks had happened on Sept. 10, 2001, he would have been meeting with the people who worked right where the plane hit. My husband’s father was supposed to fly out of Boston, but fortunately planes were grounded before he boarded. To read more about my Sept. 11, 2001, experience, you can read my Air Force commentary.
Recently, I read two books that helped me remember Sept. 11, 2001, and also taught me some things about that day that I didn’t know. I read Mitchell Zuckoff’s Rise and Fall: The Story of 9/11 and I listened to the audiobook of Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero by Michael Hingson.
Zuckoff’s book gives an in-depth historical take on the events of Sept. 11, 2001, but also gives the stories of the people who were affected by the tragedy that day. He tells about the families of the flight attendants and pilots. He tells the work history of the firefighters and paramedics. He tells the love stories and shares the heart-breaking phone calls. He talks about who was sitting where in the planes. He describes the rescues attempted at the Pentagon, the struggles of the burn victims from the World Trade Center and the resolve of the coroner in Pennsylvania to recover items with dignity. Rise and Fall: The Story of 9/11 is going to be a must-read book for the people who didn’t live through that day or aren’t old enough to remember. It is a hard book to read due to the emotional factor of the content, but I would recommend everyone read Rise and Fall: The Story of 9/11.
Hingson’s book is a more personal story of Sept. 11, 2001. Hingson is blind and has been since birth. He has had several guide dogs and had one with him when he was working on the 78thfloor of the World Trade Center that day. Roselle’s calm demeanor and his resolve not to upset her led them both to helping each other and many others escape the building shortly before the first collapse. Besides describing his experience on Sept. 11, 2001, and how it affected him, Thunder Dog also gives a glimpse into the world of blindness and how much blind people are just as capable as seeing people. He also talks about his faith and how he heard God speak to him on that day to calm him fears. It is a moving, inspiring story.
If you are looking to spend some time learning more about Sept. 11, 2001, or to take some time to reflect and remember, both of these books would be good to read. I highly recommend both to most readers. Rise and Fall: The Story of 9/11 has some content that might upset children, so I would recommend that book for high school readers and older.
Another book to consider (which is being made into a broadway musical) is The Day the World Came to Town by Jim Defede. Read the review here.
Never forget!
Buy Rise and Fall: The Story of 9/11 here (affiliate link).
Buy Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero here (affiliate link).