I am sure by now you have seen and heard many personal stories about loss, survival and unlikely heroes surrounding the events of September 11, 2001. Most of us will only ever live vicariously through the stories that rose from the ashes. We hear stories of courageous hero, lost loves and lives cut short.
I cannot imagine what it was like to be there at the moment in time. The sights, the sounds, the sheer panic of the people racing for their lives from the streets.
Artie Van Why was in New York City that day. In fact he worked in an office across from the World Trade Center. He not only saw what happened, he also lived it. He was there at ground level, a witness to history one of the the world’s most tragic days.
That Day in September, by Artie Van Why, is a short read. It didn’t take me long to read. I might even venture to say that this is more of a novella. It’s too short to be a novel, but too long to be a short story too.
I have heard many accounts on what it was like to be at Ground Zero on September 11th. What I liked about this book is that it was written in such a way that you felt like you were right there next to the author, seeing and experiencing things right along with him. He goes into great details about the sights and sounds, pulling you in to his story and making you feel like you are right there.
The book starts off giving you a bit of Artie’s background so that the reader knows how he ended up working in New York City. I think this was helpful to get to know a little more about the author and so that readers had a bit of a personal connection to him.
This story is not about how someone rushed into a burning building to save lives, or about how someone was rescued from the rubble. This is more so a story about an average person, like me and you, who happened to bare witness to one of the world’s greatest trajedies. He gives you a first hand look at what it was like to be a regular person on the streets at Ground Zero. He writes about all the commotion, the fear and even people jumping to their deaths (something I can never fully understand).
Artie started the day as a typical office worker but the events of the day changed his life forever. He learned that family is the most important thing and moved to Pennsylvania after 9/11 to be closer to his family. He still resides in PA today.
I liked this book. I can’t say it was enjoyable because of the subject matter (NOTHING would be considered enjoyable from that day). I do appreciate how he recalled the events of the day so vividly. He knows how to write very descriptively which draws you in and puts you right in the middle of the action.
That Day in September is available at Amazon, Good Reads and Barnes & Noble.
You can learn more about the book, That Day in September, by visiting the official Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/ThatDayinSeptember.
I meant to post this review a couple of weeks ago, giving readers time to pick up the book before the 10th Anniversary. My apologies for that. Between back to school and some other crazy happenings I wasn’t able to post it before now. Even though the anniversary is tomorrow the memory of September 11, 2001 will always be with us. Anytime is a good time to read this book.
Kimberly
*I received a free sample copy in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.