Read July 2021 - Zoom Reading Circle
Oh my goodness, I loved this book! It was so fascinating to 'meet' all the people - both the locals from Gander and the 'plane people' who ended up there. This is the kind of book that restores your faith in humanity. It was inspiring to read and pulled at me to 'do better'. It also makes me really want to travel to Gander! :) Reading this book brought me right back to 9/11. We all have our story and our memories of that day and those events. It is hard to believe that is over 20 years ago... I remember it all so vividly. This book tells the true story of how the small Canadian town of Gander welcomed 6,132 passengers, plus the crew members, from 38 flights from across the world on the spur of the moment when airspace over the United States was shut down. All those planes were forced to land quickly and this small town had a large enough airfield, left over from WW2 years, to accommodate them. However, once the 'plane people' landed, they nearly outnumbered the residents of Gander - and yet were their guests for several days until the planes could all take off again. What a story of hope, community, love & loss, and the power of hospitality to bring good to the world. Everyone should read this! And then follow up by watching the Broadway musical Come From Away that airs on AppleTV and is based on this same event. You won't be sorry!
Quotes from the book...
The passengers weren't treated like refugees, but like long-lost relatives, and the more he thought about it, the more it moved him.
Nevertheless, given all those human frailties, what happened in Gander is still remarkable. And perhaps the lesson isn't that these acts of kindness occurred because Gander is a magical place, but rather that these people came together in a time of crisis regardless of their own personal shortcoming. And if that's the case, then it offers hope that all of us have that ability within us.
An Oasis of Kindness on 9/11 - USA Today article
A reflection article 20 years later -
An article about the wonderful true-life story of Nick and Diane
On 9/11 this Canadian town welcomed in stranded passengers
Full documentary - Gander's ripple effect: How a small towns kindness opened on Broadway
Come From Away - Meet the Real People
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