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120 of 139 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One Widow's Grief and Courage, August 20, 2002
This review is from: Let's Roll!: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage (Hardcover)
I presume to suggest that this book be read in combination with Jere Longman's Among the Heroes. Frankly, I am unable to appreciate the full nature and extent of Lisa Beamer's grief, following the death of her husband and others aboard United flight 93. As she explains in this book, her primary challenge since then has been to overcome that grief while somehow providing for the needs of their three children. (Daughter Morgan was born in January, only a few months after United flight 93 crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.) Although she has written a bestseller, and continues to attract media attention, Lisa Beamer remains focused on her children and the work of the Todd M. Beamer Foundation whose mission is to assist other children who have also lost a parent. The title of her book refers to her late husband's last recorded remarks just before he and others aboard the plane attempted to overcome the terrorists who had skyjacked it. ("Are you guys ready? Let's roll!") They knew what had already happened on September 11th whereas those aboard the other three flights did not. Huddled to the rear of their plane, several were able to call loved ones and then recited the Lord's Prayer before rushing the forward area. Those who read this book expecting a detailed account of those final moments will be disappointed. (That is why I highly recommend Longman's book.) What Lisa Beamer shares in this book is her abiding religious faith, probably without which she could not cope with the loss of her beloved husband. She is also determined to help others to understand who her late husband was and why his heroism is "so Todd." She suggests that he was "more than a half hour of time on September 11." Of course, the same can be said of everyone else aboard that flight as well as of those aboard the other three flights and of everyone else who perished at the World Trade Center and at the Pentagon. It has been less than a year since the multiple of tragedies occurred and it may be several decades before we will be able to fully grasp the nature and extent of heroism both in the air and on the ground throughout that tragic day...and during the weeks which followed. Lisa Beamer has written an inspirational account of her own experiences. Although apparently there have been indications at least some resentment of her celebrity, with which she seems to be uncomfortable, she observes that "I haven't gotten that sense on my interactions with the other families. I do my best to say what happened on that plane was teamwork, that there are a lot of untold stories and other heroes" aboard United flight 93. Perhaps in time, we will learn more about them. Perhaps those "untold stories" will be added to Todd Beamer's. My final comment is that, now more than ever before, we need to re-define heroism so as to include otherwise "ordinary" people who, when faced with a life-threatening crisis, respond with extraordinary courage. May our beloved nation always have Todd Beamers to accept that challenge...and Lisa Beamers to help us to appreciate them.
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31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Couragious and Generous of Spirit, August 24, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Let's Roll!: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage (Hardcover)
I sat down today to start reading Lisa Beamer's acoount of her life and the last 11 month's. Lisa is so very generous in her writing to share her experience's with us. This book is more about the " person of faith" that was Todd Beamer . Those characteristic's lead him to act in the most heroic way. Lisa not only share's her own experience's - but gives the reader a glimpse of what happened on a more personal level while visiting the crash site , The White House and the course of event's that have lead her to the present. The book most defintely may make some people question the road they have taken . The incredible courage , generousity of spirit and dedication to her husband's memory is remarkable. I could not put the book down.
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107 of 127 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
this book isn't what you might think..., August 26, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Let's Roll!: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage (Hardcover)
First of all, I purchased the book because I've admired Lisa Beamer for all her strength and dignity in what must be the worst period of her life. When she writes of Todd being a hero (and I completely agree that he as well as the other passengers and flight crew on Flight 93 were heroes), Lisa Beamer is herself a hero. She has been 9/11's Jackie Kennedy--a vision of poise and dignity. Now on to the book. After I finished it, I concluded that if I'd have known Lisa and Todd as a couple, we probably wouldn't have been friends. I'd probably have found their deeply held religious beliefs off-putting. On further examination, I realize that would have been my loss. Lisa quotes alot from the Bible, and for people like myself who consider themselves "spiritual" but not religious, it might seem to be over the top. But there's one part of the book that has really stuck with me since I've read it. When Lisa describes Todd's memorial service, she writes of a service filled with hope because of her total belief that Todd now dwells in Heaven, and that she will see him again. She also believes in God's will, and that Sept. 11 proved something that we all should have known all along, but might have forgotten: That God is always in control, even when we foolishly think we are. Lisa then goes on to write about a memorial service in Shanksville, PA, a service at which God was never mentioned. Lisa and her brother Paul agree that for those who grieve for loved ones without a complete belief in God, and mourn without hope, that is the saddest, most wretched grief of all. Lisa's book reveals much about Todd Beamer as a boy and young man, how they met and fell in love, and their live as newlyweds and with small children. There's not alot in this book about what exactly happened on that flight, and I don't think there needed to be. I imagine the writing of this book was cathartic to Lisa, and that's a good thing. I think Lisa Beamer is a great lady, and I think she's got a great head on her shoulders and will be able to come through this tragedy and lead a worthwhile and productive life. As far as the book, some of the writing seemed a bit over the top and naive (way too many explanation points for me), but other than that, her story is an awesome one. But think about this...this is just one person's story. For all of the nearly 3,000 people who died that day, I'm sure there are just as many amazing, wonderful, and uplifting biographies that could be written of each and every person who was murdered that day. I hope someday those stories get written, too.
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