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Middletown, America - One Town's Passage from Trauma to Hope
by Gail Sheehy
Random House, Inc.
ISBN 0-375-50862-7
Published September 2003 - Hardcover - 415 pages - $25.95

I found this to be a remarkable account of some of the peoples' lives post September 11th.  Gail Sheey gets to the bottom of how survivors and some of the families of lost loved ones managed to get through the tough times.  Not over it, just through it.  We get to meet a bunch of incredible people from Middletown, New Jersey, from where the most people who perished hailed.  A look into their normally organized suburban lives-turned-upside-down, is hard to fathom and gives us pause to evaluate our own lives.  The enormity of 9/11 stretches all around the world but the emotional devastation was obviously concentrated in and around downtown Manhattan and the surrounding suburbs.  Ms. Sheehy gives us an incredible insight into those shattered lives, a look at how the communities rallied around for each other, how "four moms from New Jersey" put together a hearing in DC, how different families coped, the religious aspect, the healing prospect, and oh, so much more.  Having personally been the Ground Zero (November 2000) and being moved beyond expectation, I still have no concept (perhaps more so now) of what the survivors went through, and in some cases, are still going through.  You will develop a whole new appreciation of grief after reading this book.
Conclusion - A must-read.  Very, very moving.