A Journey of Heart and History

This week we are taking a look at two five star, non-fiction books

First up we have A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney. Now, I am not a tv or movie person so I did not know who Rob Delaney is but you might? Delaney is (now) also an author.

A Heart That Works is very unputdownable. I think I read it in one sitting (it is 196 pages). This is a grief and death memoir that no one should ever have to read, because no one should ever have to have this experience. This book is about the experience of the illness of Rob’s son, Henry. It is about Henry’s death, and it is about Rob’s experiences of these things. Reading some of the reviews online, those who have suffered the loss of a child have found Rob’s memoir extremely helpful. This book is raw emotion. It is well written. You can feel all of the feelings. I can’t even begin to imagine what this is like as a parent, but I can see how having someone bare their sole in this way would be helpful - to have someone so eloquently put on the page something close to your experience might feel reassuring and less lonely. A Heart That Works is currently sitting at 4.61 on Good Reads. If you appreciate memoirs about what it means to experience love and loss, this book is for you.

The second book that I am reviewing this week is The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff.

This has to be one of the best, impactful, and clever non fiction books I have ever read. This is the telling of 9/11 from the perspective of nearly 500 people who experienced it. The book opens with the day before, 9/10, with a brief scene setting, and then the majority of the book is the retelling of the experience of 9/11. There are a few chapters at the end which discuss the aftermath, but the majority of the book is focused on the one day. Drawing on transcripts, 911 calls, declassified documents, original interviews, and oral histories from nearly five hundred government officials, first responders, witnesses, survivors, friends and family members, Graff does some scene setting which is very brief, and then the chapters are quote after quote from those who experienced the day. Occasionally there is some editorial comment but we experience this day from these amazing first hand accounts.

Those of us who are old enough to remember 9/11 will no doubt be able to recount where they were when they first heard the news of the planes crashing into the twin towers. This book will give you new insights into so much that happened that day which we weren’t privy to in New Zealand. I was so engrossed in this book, that I was sitting there and tears were streaming down my face and I didn’t even realise I was crying. It had such an impact on me. I have been recommending this book to everyone! I really enjoyed Graff’s approach to this book - I have never come across a non fiction book like it.

This book was published in 2019 and is currently sitting at 4.72 on Good Reads. I read the physical book of this one, but reading the reviews, apparently the audio book is also AMAZING. The audiobook has won some audiobook awards. I would guess they have lots of different actors reading the different perspectives which would be an amazing retelling. Have you read this one? If not, and if you are into non fiction and are interested in learning more about this recent event in our history, go out and find this book, and let me know what you think.. because life is too short to read bad books.