Unmeasured Strength

10 years. 10 years since the world changed. I wasn't in New York City when it happened, but I still knew the significance of what just happened. Recently I was sent a book. A book written by a survivor of that horrible day. Lauren Manning made it out of one of the buildings alive. And 10 years later, she is able to tell her story. Here is a description of her book, Unmeasured Strength

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Lauren Manning, a former managing director and partner at Cantor Fitzgerald, left for work.  On Friday, March 15, 2002 – six months and four days later – she finally returned home. So many lives were changed that infamous September morning, including that of the most gravely injured survivor of 9/11.  Against all odds and with more than 82 percent of her body burned, Lauren, wife and mother, vowed to see her infant son’s face again.
Unmeasured Strength (On-sale August 30, 2011)takes the reader to the site of the World Trade Center Towers just before the planes hit all the way through Lauren’s life today. Her life was recast on 9/11, but not as a victim, as a survivor. Lauren’s transformation, both mentally and physically, tells us of the tenacity and resilience of the human spirit and gives us hope that even in the wake of tragedy, our experiences are mended by our strength. 


The book...Lauren herself, is just amazing. Her story is very emotional. She talks about the moment it all happened. The terror she went through on that awful morning. She takes you through her entire journey. She makes you feel what she felt. I don't know how many times this book brought tears to my eyes. You get a sense of how strong she is. How she was able to fight for her life. You get to know who Lauren is and who Lauren becomes. She went through so many surgeries, so many physical therapy sessions, so many set backs. But she never stopped fighting. I love reading books like this. Books that take you to where the author was. The detail was wonderful. It allows you to connect with the author. With Lauren. Hearing everything she had to fight through was so inspiring. Writing a review for this book isn't easy. I mean the book is fantastic. But trying to put in words how you felt reading a book like this is hard. You are hearing a true story. Someone went through this. Someone survived this. You can't help but be drawn into the story and into Lauren's world. You just want to reach out and give her a hug and a high five. If you didn't live in New York City or know someone who went through that, you never heard a story like Lauren's. I watched the news nearly everyday, and I never got to hear these personal stories. The survivors of a tragedy like this deserve to have their stories heard. I am so glad that Lauren was able to tell her story, and I am thrilled that I was able to read it. In a world like this where there are so many things going wrong, it's awesome to read a story like this. Unmeasured Strength is full of hope and inspiration. I hope you get a chance to read it as well.