After 9/11: One Girl's Journey through Darkness to a New Beginning

by Helaina Hovitz, Jasmin Lee Cori (Foreword by), Patricia Harte Bratt PhD (Afterword)

Overview

“You are a herald for your generation....Thank you for using your voice to help us make sense of that dark day, and forge a new beginning.”—Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a letter to Helaina Hovitz

Helaina Hovitz was twelve years old and in middle school just blocks away when the World Trade Center was attacked. Her memoir encapsulates the journey of a girl growing up with PTSD after living through the events firsthand. After 9/11 chronicles its effects on a young girl at the outset of adolescence, following her as she spirals into addiction and rebellion, through loss, chaos, and confusion.

The events of 9/11 were a very real part of Helaina’s life and are still vivid in her memory today. Hundreds were stranded in the neighborhood, including Helaina, without phones or electricity or anyone to help. Fear and despair took over her life. It would take Helaina more than a decade to overcome the PTSD — and subsequent alcohol addiction — that went misdiagnosed and mistreated. In many ways, After 9/11 is the story of a generation growing up in the aftermath of America’s darkest day —and for one young woman, it is the story of a survivor who, after witnessing the end, got to make a new beginning. This new trade paperback edition includes tips on how to cope with trauma, an FAQ section, and a guide to discussing 9/11 with children.

“Inspirational, courageous and beautifully told. After 9/11 is a testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.” — Cathy Free, correspondent, PEOPLE magazine

“Helaina Hovitz's engrossing narrative begins in the shadow of the twin towers with her as a backpack-toting twelve-year-old and plays out over the next fifteen years in dramatic - and sometimes distressing - detail. This impressive debut is both deeply evocative and intensely personal.” — Peter Canby, Senior Editor, The New Yorker

“A moving and remarkable testament to a time that changed our country, told beautifully by a young woman who never gave up hope that she could reclaim her life, no matter how grim things looked.” — Sean Elder, contributor, Newsweek

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510723757
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	09/05/2017
Pages:	496
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Helaina Hovitz is a journalist and editor, specializing in positive and inspiring stories. She has written for the New York Times, Salon, The New York Observer, Forbes, Glamour, VICE, Huffington Post, Teen Vogue, and Newsday. She lives in New York with her husband, and her rescue dog, Wiley.

Jasmin Lee Cori MS, LPC, is a psychotherapist and author of Healing From Trauma: A Survivor's Guide to Understanding Your Symptoms and Reclaiming Your Life

Patricia Harte Bratt, PhD, is the director of the Academy of Clinical and Applied Psychoanalysis (ACAP), the president of the National Association for the Achievement of Psychoanalysis (NAAP), and the author of Reciprocal Resilience: Surprising Benefits for Clinicians of Listening to Stories of Trauma.

Editorial Reviews

“I am grateful to you for writing After 9/11, and for the courage it took to share your personal story....I am so heartened to know that despite the many challenges you faced...you have emerged as a survivor...Thank you for using your voice to help us all make sense of that dark day, and forge that new beginning. You are a herald for your generation.”—Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a letter to Helaina Hovitz

“Hovitz's story of finding hope in the darkness is inspirational, courageous and beautifully told. After 9/11 is a testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.” —Cathy Free, correspondent, PEOPLE

“Helaina Hovitz's engrossing narrative begins in the shadow of the twin towers with her as a backpack-toting twelve-year-old and plays out over the next fifteen years in dramatic - and sometimes distressing - detail. This impressive debut is both deeply evocative and intensely personal.” —Peter Canby, Senior Editor, The New Yorker

“Hovitz shows us, for the first time, what it was like for families in New York City who suddenly had to live like other war refugees, with no idea where their loved ones were or when the next attack might come. After 9/11 is a moving and remarkable testament to a time that changed our country, told beautifully by a young woman who never gave up hope that she could reclaim her life, no matter how grim things looked.”
—Sean Elder, contributor, Newsweek

“Helaina Hovitz has written that rare kind of book that combines a poetic sensitivity to detail, the stark emotion of memory, and a searing glimpse of the human spirit as it suffers, struggles and learns to heal. In her story are the seeds of hope for anyone who has survived trauma and seeks to truly live again.”
—Michele Rosenthal, author of Heal Your PTSD: Dynamic Strategies That Work

“Helaina Hovitz has written a powerful memoir of the overlooked personal trauma nearby kids experienced while living in the shadow of so much destruction. Her story, and the stories of her friends and classmates, are a crucial part of the nation's 9/11 history.” —Jacoba Urist, journalist, The Atlantic

“Helaina Hovitz's first book is a brave, honest, and fast-paced personal account of the ways in which one day can change the course of our lives forever. Her story is an example of how trauma and addiction become part of a life, not someone's entire life, and how we can take the wheel and change that course if we are willing to work for it. By combining her own personal experience with interviews and journalistic research, Hovitz shows us, every step of the way, what it is like to finally move towards the light after so many years of darkness.”
—Maia Szalavitz, bestselling author and journalist for TIME

“Hovitz's memoir is distinctive and larger than her own experience. Through her engaging and beautifully crafted narrative, we see the lasting scars that have lingered on so many of us.” — Ilana Masad, reviewer, Read it Forward

“Provides us with a timely account of the seen and unseen damage searing experiences and memories shape... Helaina Hovitz, in understated prose, takes us with her on her path away from PTSD. She does not shy away from nor minimize the effects of her trauma... Hovitz had the grit, determination and resources to pull herself out of the morass of PTSD. What about the rest of her generation growing up in this post-September 11 world?
...Throughout history witness-bearers through their stories provide personal glimpses into historic events that can otherwise become dates and place names and statistics. Hovitz’s book opens a window on one person’s journey in the aftermath of September 11. She has rendered a valuable service in adding her voice to the memory of this momentous interstice in world history.” — Janet Levine, New York Journal of Books

“A must-read, inspiring and impressive.” — Jason Schott, Brooklyn Digest

“A tightly-paced memoir of a girlhood in a combat zone: the United States. This book cuts through political commentary and cultural critique to give us a child's-eye view on New York City on 9/11, and reminds us that our lives are shaped in part by what we see and what we survive. Hovitz, a journalist, uses her strengths as a writer and reporter to unpack a powerful tale, and her experience as a survivor of PTSD to explore the impact of trauma on our lives. This is the 9/11 story - a story of children, families, and individuals - that is, as yet, untold.” — Marya Hornbacher, award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author of the memoirs Madness: A Bipolar Life, and Wasted

“I am grateful to you for writing After 9/11, and for the courage it took to share your personal story....I am so heartened to know that despite the many challenges you faced...you have emerged as a survivor...Thank you for using your voice to help us all make sense of that dark day, and forge that new beginning. You are a herald for your generation.”—Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a letter to Helaina Hovitz

“Hovitz's story of finding hope in the darkness is inspirational, courageous and beautifully told. After 9/11 is a testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.” —Cathy Free, correspondent, PEOPLE

“Helaina Hovitz's engrossing narrative begins in the shadow of the twin towers with her as a backpack-toting twelve-year-old and plays out over the next fifteen years in dramatic - and sometimes distressing - detail. This impressive debut is both deeply evocative and intensely personal.” —Peter Canby, Senior Editor, The New Yorker

“Hovitz shows us, for the first time, what it was like for families in New York City who suddenly had to live like other war refugees, with no idea where their loved ones were or when the next attack might come. After 9/11 is a moving and remarkable testament to a time that changed our country, told beautifully by a young woman who never gave up hope that she could reclaim her life, no matter how grim things looked.”
—Sean Elder, contributor, Newsweek

“Helaina Hovitz has written that rare kind of book that combines a poetic sensitivity to detail, the stark emotion of memory, and a searing glimpse of the human spirit as it suffers, struggles and learns to heal. In her story are the seeds of hope for anyone who has survived trauma and seeks to truly live again.”
—Michele Rosenthal, author of Heal Your PTSD: Dynamic Strategies That Work

“Helaina Hovitz has written a powerful memoir of the overlooked personal trauma nearby kids experienced while living in the shadow of so much destruction. Her story, and the stories of her friends and classmates, are a crucial part of the nation's 9/11 history.” —Jacoba Urist, journalist, The Atlantic

“Helaina Hovitz's first book is a brave, honest, and fast-paced personal account of the ways in which one day can change the course of our lives forever. Her story is an example of how trauma and addiction become part of a life, not someone's entire life, and how we can take the wheel and change that course if we are willing to work for it. By combining her own personal experience with interviews and journalistic research, Hovitz shows us, every step of the way, what it is like to finally move towards the light after so many years of darkness.”
—Maia Szalavitz, bestselling author and journalist for TIME

“Hovitz's memoir is distinctive and larger than her own experience. Through her engaging and beautifully crafted narrative, we see the lasting scars that have lingered on so many of us.” — Ilana Masad, reviewer, Read it Forward

“Provides us with a timely account of the seen and unseen damage searing experiences and memories shape... Helaina Hovitz, in understated prose, takes us with her on her path away from PTSD. She does not shy away from nor minimize the effects of her trauma... Hovitz had the grit, determination and resources to pull herself out of the morass of PTSD. What about the rest of her generation growing up in this post-September 11 world?
...Throughout history witness-bearers through their stories provide personal glimpses into historic events that can otherwise become dates and place names and statistics. Hovitz’s book opens a window on one person’s journey in the aftermath of September 11. She has rendered a valuable service in adding her voice to the memory of this momentous interstice in world history.” — Janet Levine, New York Journal of Books

“A must-read, inspiring and impressive.” — Jason Schott, Brooklyn Digest

“A tightly-paced memoir of a girlhood in a combat zone: the United States. This book cuts through political commentary and cultural critique to give us a child's-eye view on New York City on 9/11, and reminds us that our lives are shaped in part by what we see and what we survive. Hovitz, a journalist, uses her strengths as a writer and reporter to unpack a powerful tale, and her experience as a survivor of PTSD to explore the impact of trauma on our lives. This is the 9/11 story - a story of children, families, and individuals - that is, as yet, untold.” — Marya Hornbacher, award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author of the memoirs Madness: A Bipolar Life, and Wasted

From the Publisher