REMEMBRANCE DAY: September 11Memories/Histories

 On this Infamous date, September 11, many reading this post will have an instantaneous memory of where you were and what/how your reactions unfolded on that morning. For an entire generation, this momentous day is only known as history. Anyone too young at the time to realize what was happening, or born in the last twenty-three years, has learned of the events indirectly, through the consequences of that day's direct and indirect results- decades of distant wars, hyper-patriotism and polarization in politics, an extended recession and family struggles, as well as other shifts, perhaps less directly related. 

There has been no lack of movies and books and documentaries about the time surrounding 9/11 events and subsequent changes in American society. Some are objective, some present points of view that can make hate or anger even worse. Among the objective accounts are books for children. I'll use this day to link to some titles that contain healing and other positive developments from such a horrific time. It's of particular interest to me that many involve trees in various ways.  Prior posts include THIS VERY TREE, HERE, THE TREE OF LIFE, HERE, LEAFY LANDMARKS: Travels With Trees HERE, and WITNESS TREES: Historic Moments and the Trees Who Watched Them Happen, HERE.

CAPSTONE BOOKS, 2016

But here's a  book directly about the events of 9/11 and below this I share a resource related to this particular series of events that day. It reveals the in-the-moment decisions of everyday folks who lacked answers but not heart. Folks who traded safe havens for a sea rescue for desperate people rushing to the harbor. SAVED BY THE BOATS: The Heroic Sea Evacuation of September 11, is written by Julie Gassman and illustrated by Steve Moors. At the time of its release It somehow missed my radar entirely. 

For me, at least, time continues to shift this potent memory deeper onto the history shelves. But I encountered a short documentary video about the boat rescues that day. With SO MANY things to absorb and process, the boat rescue operation had receded in my memory, overwhelmed by other horrific images: falling towers, clouds of ashy debris, and ensuing painful days and weeks and months of personal stories and global changes. This video brought it all back.

It is an aspect of that day, those times, of the people we really are, that compels me to to dip back a few years to share this book, but also to urge you to watch this short (11-12 minutes) documentary, featuring the actual people involved and narrated by Tom Hanks. Watching brought me right back to that day, those feelings, and such powerful emotions keep events like these steeped in meaning. When relegated to historic status, young people need ways to find empathetic connection, which they can get by viewing this video. Please watch, and then find as many others to share it with as possible. As the subtitle says, resilience is at the heart of our hopes for survival as humans, and as a planet. Even the most unthinkable disasters can be responded to with action and hope:

Here's the video link:  BOATLIFT: AN UNTOLD TALE OF 9/11 RESILIENCE

Help make this DAY OF REMEMBRANCE only one day among many, and demonstrate HOPE. And think back to that time itself, and the years before, when we as a society sought out our common ground rather than our differences.

THE TREE OF LIFE: Hope Is Priceless, Timeless

I am a fan of books about nature, especially trees. Okay, books about birds, too, and families, and inspiring people... and animals. It's easy to see why I resist naming favorites among anything, especially books. There are so many wonderful things to read about and learn about. Click any of the above to see that my comments about such books reveal my admiration and appreciation for the talent that created the books but also of the subject being addressed or the story being told.

ROCKY POND BOOKS, 2024

This, then is a book that hits my heart across many waves of "favorites". THE TREE OF LIFE: How a Holocaust Sapling Inspired the World is written by Elisa Boxer and illustrated by Arianna Rozentsveig. It is a storytelling masterpiece, but it's a story from actual events. About an actual tree, and its offspring. About the power of community to serve as family when family is being destroyed. About the continuity of life... and of HOPE. 

The center of this account is a tree, a maple sapling. With subdued and subtle illustrations and text that tells enough, but not too much, encounter life within the walls of a concentration camp during the Holocaust, one of the few camps that allowed a small group of children to continue living, if you could call it that. It portrays the history with a  balance between visible struggle and hardship with aspects that are softened, somehow familiar, with smiles of excitement and hope. When it comes to the prisoners in these camps, modern readers sometimes question: why didn't they rebel or resist? First, those efforts did occur, but nearly all accounts of such were suppressed and denied. In fact, though, this is a story of resistance, offering details that involve helping a sapling grow while helping young children learn about their heritage's celebrate their holidays, and hold tight to their identities. 

And, hold tight to hope. 

Few survived that horror, but those few who did kept that tree, and their hope, alive. When relief eventually reached the few who remained, a five foot tall tree was waiting with them. It became a symbol of LIFE, of HOPE, of WITNESS to the truth of history. That surviving tree became an honored landmark, but it also provided seeds and cuttings to grow into more trees of hope. One of those offspring trees concludes this account in an unlikely place, but one that also witnessed death and celebrates hope. 

A book with this much power and depth could seem an unlikely choice for a picture book, but that assumption would be wrong. The target age here is wide, and welcoming. Readers (or listeners) of many ages will bring to it their own experiences, their own thoughts and feelings about trees, and communities, and hope. And they will take from it what each needs, regardless of age or background. And all will savor the rich illustrations and powerful but accessible text.

In the ongoing public discussions about education, about "what kids need", about grit or resilience or test scores, the truth is that young people need many things, and most of all they need good books and good stories. In this case, this nonfiction treatment of a powerful symbol of LIFE and HOPE is a work of art, and of heart.