Women at Ground Zero:
Stories of Courage and Compassion
Just published: a book of interviews with women at the World Trade Center, September 11, 2001. The authors of Women at Ground Zero: Stories of Courage and Compassion have interviewed thirty women -- including eight FDNY firefighters, as well as police officers, EMT's, a counselor, and a Port Authority worker -- about their experiences in the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center. The result is a book that is candid, dramatic, painful, and riveting.
Authors Susan Hagen, a volunteer firefighter in northern California, and Mary Carouba, an investigative social worker, had noticed "a continuing lack of coverage about the women whose courage, professionalism, compassion and resourcefulness contributed to saving lives and helping a devastated community" after 9/11. They made three trips to New York City to conduct interviews, and plan to donate profits from sales of the book to survivors' assistance funds in New York City and organizations that provide education and training for women in non-traditional fields.
Please visit the authors' website at www.womenatgroundzero.com for more information about the book and related activities.
Women at Ground Zero: Stories of Courage and Compassion, by Susan Hagen and Mary Carouba, lists for $22.95 from Alpha Books/Pearson Education.
Copies of Women at Ground Zero are available from WFS for $20. Please add $3 shipping for the first copy, $2 extra per copy for each additional book shipped at the same time to the same address. Orders may be mailed to WFS at P.O. Box 5446, Madison WI 53705. VISA and MasterCard orders may be phoned in to 608/233-4768.
Some quotes from Women at Ground Zero:
"There was nowhere to go, there was nowhere to turn, and I was choking to death. I was thinking, I'm going to die... Just absolutely convinced and positive I was going to die. For a split second, I also thought, Just let it happen then. I was resigned to it, which was a horrible feeling... Then I snapped out of it. (I thought) I'm not dying on these terms. Not like this. Whoever did that back there, they're not getting me like this." (EMS Captain Janice Olszewski)
"Every time someone would find a void, it brought hope, like maybe somebody's under there." (Firefighter Tracy Lewis)
"I think the essence of love is laying down your life for others. If you've ever felt that nobody loves you, just look at a fire truck going by. Then you'll know that somebody does." (Firefighter Regina Wilson)
