Balcony View Living At Ground Zero After 9 11

Very quietly Ron said, “You know, I think the Towers are going to go. Maybe we’d better get out of here.” ßWe suddenly realized that if either of the Towers fell at a certain angle, our building was directly in the line of fall. Above the raging flames, the perpendicular steel I-beams were beginning to bulge out, softening in the heat. Again his unnaturally quiet voice, “I can’t stay here. If the Towers fall on us, I’ll die of fright.” (BALCONY VIEW - a 9/11/ Diary ) Julia Frey’s account begins on September 11, 2001, as the couple decide that despite her husband’s illness, they must somehow flee. They abandon his wheelchair; he is too frail to climb on a boat. Later that day, covered with ashes, they struggle home through a neighborhood pitched into destruction and chaos, to look out his study window at their new view: “the stage set for Dante’s Inferno.” The domino effect of one burning, collapsing building setting fire to the next one makes it clear that their own building could still go. “The electricity was out. Ron could never go down 26 flights on his rear end. We were trapped in the sky.” That’s when Julia decides to write it all down -- if only for the people who will find their bodies. Describing the first night in the the ruins, being evacuated, then returning weeks later, to live at Ground Zero, she discovers that their world has totally changed, yet finally not changed at all. “Our previous problems didn’t magically disappear. They were just waiting for us to come back in the door.” This powerful narrative of double coping -- with Ron’s progressing disability and with the after-effects of 9/11 -- describes a situation the manuals don’t cover -- caregiving in a disaster. Julia Frey’s intense, wryly humorous ‘you are there’ style buoys up the diary and moves it swiftly along, catching us in a gripping, touching, brave, tender, funny story of falling towers, a failing husband and a floundering ménage à trois. “Nothing happens in a vacuum,” she says, weaving in the leitmotif of a long-term love affair. Unflinchingly, she faces the ruins out the window and her own disturbing ambivalence as she sacrifices her creative and professional life to become a full-time caregiver. Ron is no angel, either. He’s a self-centered, willful novelist who after convincing her to take a lover, now wants her to give him up. “What makes him think he can turn us off and on like televisions?” she wonders. Ron’s own writing creates an important counterpoint to Julia’s voice, as she weaves into her diary quotations from his posthumous novel, Last Fall (FC2, 2005). In a poignant Coda, another tale comes to light -- the almost supernatural coincidences between Ron’s last short story and a series of events that occur after Ron dies. There is even a happy ending. Now, twenty years later, Julia's experience is no longer an extraordinary occurrence. This historical diary is important not only to historians, sociologists and psychologists helping patients recover from PTSD, but above all, to those who find themselves unexpectedly plunged into similar catastophic situations: becoming caregivers during a major emergency. The international Covid-19 pandemic and regional climate-change disasters like wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, repeated Gulf Coast flooding and the 2021 Texas freezes have left many unprepared peopleto deal with a very ill family member, without electricity, gas or clean water. Julia's dilemma unfortunately is no longer rare. Many people will find it comforting to know that even unheroic people manage to get through such times. Book Review: “An intimate memoir of love and loss in the shadow of 9/11 (...) Engaging and candid; an insightful look at how one woman copes with personal and national trauma.” -- Kirkus Indie

"What if you had a dying child, spouse, lover, parent, and the world caved in? It could happen. What was it like, after the Towers fell, to live in a war zone with a gravely ill husband? Julia Frey's BALCONY VIEW is far more than a 9/11 story. In this unique, historic diary -- the handwritten original is in the 9/11 Museum in New York -- Frey, a distinguished biographer, found herself in the unenviable position of writing about a life as it was falling apart -- her own. Her vivid, wry, tender book describes living for six months at Ground Zero with writer, Ron Sukenick during his terminal illness. It's a beautifully written, clear-eyed portrait of simple courage, remarkable humor, generosity and decency." Douglas Penick, writer, literary critic "The view from this balcony is compelling and utterly unique. Julia Frey has a first row seat for the two tragedies which mark her existence -- the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and her husband's progressively disabling malady. She peers down at the excavation of Ground Zero and brings us an account both riveting and thoughtful, despairing and buoyant, graceful and frank. As she navigates post 9-11 Manhattan, and a marriage that has been dealt the blow of untimely illness, we get to see, up-close, how ordinary people get through extraordinary times. With her deft touch and her sharp-warm humor, Frey is the perfect guide for such daunting territory." Elizabeth Scarboro, author: Phoenix, upside down Very quietly Ron said, "You know, I think the Towers are going to go. Maybe we'd better get out of here." If either of the Towers fell at a certain angle, our building was directly in the line of fall. Above the raging flames, the steel I-beams were beginning to bulge out, softening in the heat. Again his unnaturally quiet voice, "I can't stay here. If the Towers start falling on us, I'll die of fright." (BALCONY VIEW - a 9/11/ Diary ) Julia Frey's remarkable account begins on September 11, 2001, as the couple decide that no matter how weak Ron is, they must somehow flee. They abandon his wheelchair. He is too frail to climb on a boat. Later that day, covered with ashes, they struggle home through a neighborhood pitched into destruction and chaos, to look out his study window at their new view: "the stage-set for Dante's Inferno." The domino effect of one burning, collapsing building setting fire to the next one makes it clear that their own building could still go. "The electricity was out. Ron could never go down 26 flights on his rear end. We were trapped in the sky." That's when Julia decides to write it all down -- if only for the people who will find their bodies. Describing the first night in the the ruins, being evacuated, then returning weeks later, to live at Ground Zero, she discovers that their world has totally changed, yet finally not changed at all. "Our previous problems didn't magically disappear. They were just waiting for us to come back in the door." This hugely powerful narrative of double coping -- with Ron's progressive illness and with the after-effects of 9/11 -- describes a situation the manuals don't cover -- caregiving in a disaster. Her intense yet humorous 'you are there' style moves the diary swiftly along, catching us in a gripping, touching, brave, and yes, funny story of falling towers, a failing husband and a floundering ménage à trois. "Nothing happens in a vacuum," she says, weaving in the leitmotif of a love affair. Unflinchingly, she faces the ruins outside and her frightening, inner ambivalence as she sacrifices creative and professional life to nurse her husband. Ron is no angel either -- the self-centered, willful novelist insists she take a lover, then wants her to give him up. "What makes him think he can turn us off and on like televisions?" she wonders. In a poignant Coda, she describes an almost supernatural series of events after Ron dies. There is even a happy ending.

This title examines Ground Zero from the 9/11 terrorist attacks to the cleanup of the debris of the Word Trade Center to the construction of the Freedom Tower, the Tribute in Light, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, and the continued rebuilding of the World Trade Center complex's buildings. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Abdo & Daughters is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

A memoir of an extraordinary life—poet, international human rights activist, founding member of Amnesty International USA, journalist, hostess, famous beauty, foreign policy advisor; friend to politicians, movie stars, the legendary; discoverer of Philip Roth, longtime wife of Bill Styron and together, America’s literary golden couple at home and abroad An intimate portrait of a celebrated magic life and the famous and infamous who dropped in, summered, traveled with, played with, and the decades of friendship with everyone from Truman Capote and Robert Penn Warren to the Kennedys, the Bernsteins, Alexander Calder, John Hersey, and Lillian Hellman. Here as well are the years of dedication and risk, traveling the world, from Pinochet’s Chile to El Salvador, Belfast, and Sarajevo, as Rose Styron, in search of those hiding from dictators and autocrats, bore witness to atrocities and human rights violations . . . Styron writes of her childhood, born into a German Jewish, assimilated Baltimore family; a rebel from the start, studying poetry at Wellesley, Harvard, Johns Hopkins; traveling to Rome and her (second) meeting with Bill (the first time, “I can’t remember even shaking hands. I wasn’t thinking about him at all.”); their eventual marriage, and their more than fifty years together—in bucolic Roxbury, Connecticut, and on Martha's Vineyard. She writes of Bill's writing and of retyping his manuscripts, discussing his writing progress, having babies, with visits from neighbors Arthur Miller; Mike Nichols and various wives; Dustin Hoffman buying the house over the hill; James Baldwin moving in to Styron’s writing studio and writing The Fire Next Time, with Baldwin encouraging Styron to write Nat Turner in first person; Frank Sinatra, sailing into Vineyard Haven Harbor and soon dropping by for dinners chez Styrons; the Kennedys having rowdy sleepovers . . . And she writes in detail about Bill Styron's full-on breakdowns, his recovery from the first depression; writing Darkness Visible. And fifteen years later, the second much worse crash; Bill Styron’s death; her year of grief, teaching at Harvard; living full time on the Vineyard and making a new full life there . . .

Steven Foster has one speed: Full-Throttle! It's that commitment to going flat out that, in 2013, led him to embark on a thirty-four-day, thirty-four-state, 13,000-mile solo motorcycle ride along the perimeter of the United States wearing a pair of combat boots to raise awareness and support for the Boot Campaign, a national veterans service organization where he serves as an ambassador and advisory board member. In Full-Throttle Leadership: Passion, Power, & Purpose on the Edge of America, Steven Foster recounts the most memorable places from "Sea to Shining Sea," but more importantly, the remarkable people who made his "Full-Throttle Leadership Ride" a life-changing experience. Each mile riding alone through wicked thunderstorms, scorching heat, a mountain wildfire, and the constant deluge of assorted bugs, dirt, and grime--provides the backdrop for stories of the people he encountered in small towns and big cities across America who exemplified what is truly at the core of great leadership: service, sacrifice, and a commitment to helping others navigate the challenges of their own personal and professional "ride." Their stories sustained him then and inspire him now as an advocate for giving back in the communities where we live, work, and meet; and it's that commitment that fuels his passion to inspire others to become "force multipliers for goodness." You don't have to ride a motorcycle to become a full-throttle leader, but Steven's journey as a biker, entrepreneur, and Force Multiplier for Good provides a road map for anyone on how to run wide open to serve the people who saddle up with you every day to do the work you do, whatever it may be. If ever there was a moment to throttle up and refuel your own leadership ride, that moment is now. ............................................................................................................. Steven G. Foster, CMP is available for speaking engagements and book signings. To inquire about an appearance at your event, email to [email protected] Social Media Links www.linkedin.com/in/stevengfostercmp/ www.facebook.com/FosterandFathom www.youtube.com/FosterFathom