Customer Reviews

As One Door Closes: A Memoir about the Plane Crash of Northwest Flight #255

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I recently purchased the book "As one door closes" since I had lost two people on flight #255. I expected to hear a lot of details about the event itself, but was suprised to discover that it was about the authors life up to and after the event. Again, my interest was in the events surrounding the accident, etc. Also since one four year old survived, I thoufght it might be her story. I essence I felt I was misled by the title.

Talk about a book that you will not be able to put down. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will wonder at the strength and dignity of Annie Weissman. Weissman lost both her daughters in the crash of Northwest Flight #255. Her memoir details the before, during, and aftermath of the crash and how she dealt with this unimaginable loss. What struck me was the feeling of transformation: how Weissman learned to deal with this tragedy and how uplifting the ending is to the reader. I sent this to my sister as a gift and she read it in one sitting. She called and told me that through the memoir she had a new and more appreciative understanding of parenthood, love, and friendship. It is a must read for anyone who has lost a loved one, anyone who needs a reminder of the importance of love, or anyone who has loved ones in their lives.

This book, by Annie Weissman, is a MUST READ. It is the author's personal story of loss and gain written in a gripping style. Once you pick it up you will not want to put it down until you have finished.

The book evokes tears and laughter. You will love reading "As One Door Closes..." if you have children in your life, if you have close friends, if you have ever had to endure the death of a loved one, if you need inspiration to get to the other side of pain.

Annie Weissman, an accomplished author of non-fiction books, writes in a style that reaches into your heart and soul. Her details of family moments and personal struggles make her story relevant to all readers.

This is a superb book for yourself and as a gift to friends.

I'm not sure if this book would provide comfort for anyone who is struggling with a tragic loss. It razes more questions than answers. Time and again Annie Weissman reminds the reader that she is Jewish and at one point she uses her Judaism as an excuse to admonish a Christian minister. But did her faith provide any comfort in her darkest hour? Did she derive strength from it? Did it help her cope with the tragedy? Apparently not, and so I wonder what value her faith had. This question, like many others, remains unanswered.

Fearing for her sanity, Weissman excepted a multimillion dollar cash settlement from the airline's insurance carrier. This allowed her to buy a new house. But Weissman set aside two hundred one dollar bills to tear up and sprinkle over the graves of her daughters to prove that the money didn't really matter to her. Did it work? Did it make her feel any better? Weissman doesn't say.

Most disturbing are the letters Weissman writes to he eldest deceased child Emily. In death twelve year old Emily has become her grieving mother's personal therapist, her own Dr. Phil. Weissman unloads her deepest fears and misery not on her rabbi, or on her mother, or even on her husband, but on the memory of little Emily. No emotions are too unpleasant or too bitter to be placed on the shoulders of the little ghost. Weissman visits the graves of her children and writes to Emily, "My tears dripped onto the encrusted dirt, big splats of water like the first drops of a thunderstorm". As I read these words I wondered if Weissman believes that-on some level-Emily is aware of them and if so what would she expect Emily's reaction to be. Weissman is certainly not trying to ease the sprit of her departed child or to give her permission to leave. On some level it almost seems that Weissman blames Emily for dying as if her death was a betrayal and an act of rebellion.

The book ends with Weissman adopting a new baby, and of course, she points out that this baby is not intended to replace her departed daughters. But is the author aware that not all grieving parents have the option of buying a wonderful new home and adopting another child? Apparently not.

I thought this book was a striking example of how resilient the human spirit can be. It is heartfelt, sad, funny, and most importantly, it is real. Once I started reading it, I was pulled into Annie's world and I couldn't put the book down. I would recommend this to anyone...just have some tissues handy.