Those who were killed on September 11, 2001 left
behind more than family members. They left thousands of friends who are often
forgotten and ignored: co-workers, first responders, neighbors and survivors
who struggle to find a way to grieve the friends killed when the World Trade
Center towers fell. In Friend Grief and 9/11: The Forgotten
Mourners you’ll learn how they adjust to life without their friends and
find ways to honor those they lost on a clear, blue Tuesday.
It’s been two years since I wrote a post here
about what became the basis of this book: the hierarchy of grief in the 9/11
community. But let’s be honest: does the world need another book about 9/11? As
it turns out, the answer is yes.
We hear a lot about the families, and rightly so. I
would never dismiss their grief. But many people are forgotten, ignored,
and even officially excluded from the ceremonies each year: friends.
Some of them were not in New York that day. Some of
them are survivors. They escaped the Twin Towers, but lost co-workers and
friends. Some suffer ill health – physical and mental – because of that
experience. All of them deserve their grief acknowledged and respected.
You’ll hear stories about that day from men and
women who worked for companies in the World Trade Center, as well as first
responders like former NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations (now Chicago Police
Superintendent) Garry McCarthy. And you’ll learn that many people have found a
new purpose to their lives: changing careers, volunteering, even starting nonprofit
organizations like Mychal’s Message and Tails of Courage, in memory of their
friends.
Still think you’ve heard it all? Prepare to be
surprised.
The
e-book versions of Friend Grief and
9/11: The Forgotten Mourners will be released next week (Kobo, Amazon,
Nook), on the 12th anniversary of the attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and
Washington, DC; paperback will be available the following week.
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