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Every year, September 11th asks something of us: to pause, to remember, and to make sure the next generation understands what happened and why it still matters. Books have a way of doing that better than almost anything else. They slow us down. They put us inside a moment instead of just telling us about it.

This year, I’m recommending four books that approach 9/11 from very different angles: a personal memoir, an audio recording, a biographical work, and a novel written for young readers. Together, they cover the emotional and factual sides of remembering.

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My Memory of 9/11

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I was two months out from my wedding, and had just arrived at Jenks Elementary School to prepare for the 27 fourth graders who would soon arrive. A staff member ran past my door and told me to come to the office, something had happened. I joined a cluster of teachers and staff huddled around a tiny TV screen, and together we watched, in horror, as one plane hit the World Trade Center, and then a second.

That was all I had time to see, and all I knew, before the bell rang and I had to walk back into my classroom and welcome my students. They, of course, had no idea what had just happened, and I was not going to be the one to tell them. I didn’t even know what was happening.

I remember wondering, quietly, all day long: Is the world ending? Are we safe? Am I still going to get married in two months?

We got through the school day the only way I knew how, one lesson at a time, keeping calm and staying positive for kids who deserved a normal day even when nothing about it was normal. That evening, like so many families across the country, we sat glued to the news and called the people we loved to make sure they were safe and discover what they knew.

In the weeks that followed, I watched our nation do something I’ll never forget: we leaned on each other. We grew closer in our faith, in our care for strangers, in our sense that we belonged to something bigger than ourselves.

That’s the part of 9/11 I hold onto, the way we showed up for one another in the days after.

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Here are four books to consider reading to remember the heroes and events from that day:

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1. Let’s Roll! by Lisa Beamer

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I couldn’t put this book down. It tells the story of Todd, who said the famous words “Let’s Roll,” before he fought the hijackers on United Flight 93.  This memoir isn’t really about that one moment, it’s about everything before and after it. Lisa writes about their marriage, their faith, and the almost unbearable task of raising 2 young children while pregnant with their 3rd, and grieving in front of the entire country.

Why read it: It’s the most intimate of the three books: a window into what it actually felt like to lose someone on that day, and what it took to keep going.

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2. Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 by Mitchell Zuckoff

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This is a newer book, written so an entire generation of young people can learn about, and remember that day.

The author spent years interviewing survivors, first responders, hijackers’ families, government officials, and people who were working that morning. He weaves hundreds of individual stories into a single, minute-by-minute narrative of the day.

Why Read it: There is so much packed into this book that makes it a gripping non-fiction story. I loved the biographical nature of this book and think you will too.

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3. The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett Graff

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This is an incredibly unique book. It’s an oral history, meaning there’s no narrator, just the words of the people who lived through that day, stitched together chronologically. I recommend you LISTEN to this one. Graff pulled from hundreds of interviews and never-before-published transcripts, including accounts from President Bush and his staff aboard Air Force One, first responders inside the towers, Pentagon survivors, and passengers’ families learning the news in real time. There’s no distance here; you’re dropped straight into the conversations, chaos and confusion as it unfolded, minute by minute.

Why read it: It reads like a documentary on the page. Why listen to it: It will give you chills as you listen to the voices of those who were there.

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4. Ground Zero by Alan Gratz

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Alan Gratz is one of my son’s favorite authors!

Written for middle-school and young adult readers, Ground Zero tells the story of a boy named Brandon trapped inside the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He writes in such captivating detail and makes you feel like you are a part of history.

Why read it: Hand this to a pre-teen, or read aloud as a family or classroom. It’s perfect for anyone born after 9/11 who wants to understand it. It not only re-lives the day itself, but also connects it to the twenty years of consequences that followed.

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Why These Books

Each book fills a gap the others leave open. Let’s Roll! gives you the grief. Fall and Rise gives you the full scope. The Only Plane in the Sky gives you an inside look. Ground Zero gives you a story to share with young readers. These four books make remembering 9/11, the people who lived through it, and the people who didn’t.

What’s your 9/11 story? Share it in the comments.

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