The Day the World Came to Town

The Day the World Came to Town by Jim Defede.

On September 11, 2001, an unspeakable tragedy struck the United States. In all the confusion of the day, the US government closed its airspace in an attempt to thwart any additional planes that could have been targeting other American buildings and people. There were already planes in the air headed into the US, and many of those coming from Europe were diverted to the airport in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada.

At first I wasn't sure I wanted to read this book. I was living in New Jersey when the attacks happened and my dad was working in Washington DC. I know we all have stories about where we were that day. I was very lucky that I didn't lose anyone personally in the attacks; my dad was safe and sound, although it took time for him to be able to reach me and tell me that.

When I saw this book at the library we'd just passed the anniversary of the attacks and for some reason I was taking it kind of hard this year. It's emotional for me to visit the memorial site, to watch video of the buildings falling, to hear the tributes. But I checked this book out anyway. It fit a prompt for the Pop Sugar 2018 Reading Challenge for a book that was turned into a play; the award-winning musical Come From Away is based on this story. I'm sure they used many sources to write the play but for me this satisfied the prompt. It also won a Christopher Award, which is basically for feel-good books. I figured it was worth a try.

I loved this book. Hands down, I loved this book. It was hard for me to stop reading it to do things like, go to work, for example. The author couldn't possibly have profiled all 6,595 people who were diverted to Newfoundland or the 10,000 residents of Gander, but he chose a set of people as representatives and took the reader through what it was like to sit on those runways not knowing exactly what was happening in NewYork and why they were diverted, the hours and hours before some of the passengers had permission to de-plane, and the absolute outpouring of kindness from the residents of Gander. It did take me back to that tragic day and the week that followed, but from a different perspective. From the ugliest that people are capable of can come the kindness that we also know we can exhibit. The way the pharmacists sprang into action to deliver nictone gum to stranded passengers not allowed to smoke in their planes and refilling prescriptions from doctors around the world for the people who couldn't access their luggage was just one of the small things that made me think, "God, I wouldn't have thought of that..." A woman working in one of the shelters noticed that a Jewish family hadn't eaten anything in over 24 hours because none of it was kosher and made sure to get food that met their needs as well. What else do almost 6600 people who can't access their possessions need? Clothes, toothbrushes, bedding, transportation, food... Gander and the surrounding towns showed up with all of it, in abundance, asking for nothing in return.

For my birthday my boyfriend just ordered us tickets to Come From Away and I am so excited. The world is so full of sorrow, anger, and polarization right now that if we can just tune it all out for a few minutes or hours and realize that community is possible, it's a very welcome break.