This fine book is available now at our bookstore....

To the Heart of it: Memoirs from Ground Zero

by Maxine Platt

162 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #03-0208; ISBN 1-55395-845-4; US$17.50, C$20.95, EUR14.50, £10.50

To the Heart of it is the memoir of Maxine Platt, an average person who had the time and opportunity to volunteer at Ground Zero. This book explores Platt's experiences from the bus ride to New York, from Wisconsin, to exploring New York, and volunteering at Ground Zero. Read how her expectations compared to the reality she faced.

Read more!

About the Book      About the Author      Sample Excerpts      Catalogue Info

About the Book In April 2002, I went to New York with four co-workers to volunteer at Ground Zero for a week. At the time I was the director of an AmeriCorps program in Wisconsin. I learned of this volunteer opportunity with the Salvation Army of New York through an email I received on a National Service listserv. I announced this opportunity to the AmeriCorps members serving in my program and then coordinated the trip for those who were able to come. I knew this experience would change my life so I brought a journal with me to record my thoughts and experiences. I wanted to remember what it was like when I was there, so I brought the journal with me everywhere I went. I wrote in it every opportunity I had. Reading it can be difficult for me, but I do it when I feel the need to reflect. I wanted to write out the notes of my journal because I needed to release my feelings from Ground Zero. I also felt it was important to share this experience with others. Many of my loved ones asked me what it was like volunteering at Ground Zero but I couldn't verbalize it; this memoir is a recollection of what I experienced while in New York, based on my journal. I changed some of the names to respect the privacy of those I met. To separate the time I spent exploring New York, and time at Ground Zero, boldface type highlights time spent at Ground Zero. Because it was such an emotional experience for me, and because I experienced a lot, some details are fuzzy, but this is how I remember New York and Ground Zero. This is my experience, from the bus trip, to volunteering at Ground Zero,and exploring New York.

---

About the Author Maxine Platt holds a degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She worked as an AmeriCorps service director in Appleton, Wisconsin and currently resides in Milwaukee. To the Heart of It is her first book. Platt is currently at work on her second writing project.

---

Sample Excerpts

Jacob
Pages 39-40

"Today is my first day. I'll be here for two weeks."
"It's your first day?" I asked.
"First day back since October. We were here until October, but today is our first day back."
"You're here with the guys from your station? How does that work?"
"They put us on rotation. Everybody was here right after. It was almost impossible to make us go home. Sometimes we worked 48 hours straight and didn't even realize it. They put a stop to that in late October. Now they put us on two-week rotations. Some guys still work more, but there are always new guys coming in."
"I'm glad I'm here for you on your first day," I said.
"Me too," Jacob smiled.
"You said you live in Long Island right?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"How far is it to Harlem?"
"Not too bad - 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the traffic."
"How unsafe is it in Long Island? I'd love to see the beaches while I'm here."
"You shouldn't go alone. It's tough down there. We arrested a lot of guys down there."
"You arrest people? Fireman can't arrest guys can they?"
"No, I was a cop for four years."
"Oh. Why did you stop that?"
"It was pretty thought. I loved my job, don't get me wrong, but cops don't get the respect. It's great being in the fire department. Most of my brothers and cousins are switching from cops to fire fighters. The press and the public treat us better."
"Both are tough jobs. It's too bad that New York cops get a bad rap. They're out there defending the public; the press should treat them better."
"Some of them are defending the public. There are some shady guys. And that's what the press talked about, until now."
"There are shady people in all professions."
"Yeah, but these ones have guns."
"You're right."
"It's not like we use our guns all the time. I never even drew my gun in the four years I was a cop, never. But with television shows like COPS, people think we're gun happy. That's not in our every day routine, no more than us responding to a fire every day. I mean we get a lot of calls, but I'm not fighting a raging blaze everyday. Some times it's months before we get a huge fire."
"When did you become a firefighter?"
"Last May, 2001."
"What was your first call?" I asked naively.
"September 11th," Jacob said. "I was just getting off duty that day. When we got the call I geared up and jumped on the truck. We all headed down there. Anyone and everyone, even retired guys were down there. I was in what was the Marriott."
"Where is the Marriott?"
"It was between Tower One and Tower Two."
"Oh, sorry," I said. I needed to watch what I said and how I said it. Show some respect, I thought.

----------------------------------

First day volunteering at Ground Zero
Pages 22 - 24

"Tell me about Kathleen."
Libby told me that Kathleen lives in Manhattan and has been a regular volunteer at Ground Zero since September. She'd done a lot of jobs and had seen a lot of volunteers. For the first couple months, a lot of celebrities showed up to give their support. Kathleen said one of the biggest celebrity supporters was Susan Sarandon. Susan was there on a weekly basis for the first couple months, and she continued to come in when she could. Not only was her presence a great morality boost for the workers, but she was also a hard worker. Kathleen said she acts like an ordinary volunteer and does what ever work needs to be done.
As Libby told me later that night over dinner, Kathleen lived very near where the Twin Towers once stood. She saw the second plane hit the tower.
On the morning of September 11th, Kathleen was getting ready to go to the gym to workout. She was in the shower when the first plane hit, and she felt a shutter, but didn't take much notice. Since she hadn't turned on the television or the radio she had no idea what was going on so close to her home. She had no idea what was going on so close to her home. She got dressed in her gym clothes, dried her hair and walked around her apartment looking for her shoes. There was a noise overhead; it sounded like a very low flying plane. Kathleen went out on her balcony to see what was going on.
It was the jet plane that hit the second tower. She watched as both of the Twin Towers were engulfed in flames. She saw people jumping out of the towers as the constant sound of fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances rushed by her apartment to the scene. She stood on her balcony, in her gym clothes, looking on in shock.
One of the towers started collapsing, and she was engulfed in a cloud of debris. It was so thick she couldn't see her hand right in front of her face. She crawled into her apartment to her bedroom. There she took shelter between her dresser and her bed and covered her head with her arms, so afraid and unsure of what was going to happen next. She doesn't know how long she stayed there tucked away, but she was too terrified to move.
Eventually the cloud lifted and someone came to her house and told her she had to evacuate the premises. She didn't know if she could do that. This was her home - what would become of her things? How long would she have to be away from home? What should she pack? Photographs, clothes, shoes? What would she leave behind? When she woke up she just wanted to go to they gym; what the hell just happened?
Before I knew it, my first shift at Tent One was over. The next shift of workers had arrived; it was time to turn in our aprons and sign out.

---

Catalogue Information

---

About Trafford Publishing:
Our books are manufactured one-at-a-time to fill individual orders -- part of an innovative process we invented, called "on-demand publishing." Authors and organizations from 120 countries are using Trafford for their publishing needs.
If you (or your company) wish to list a title for sale to the public, contact the nearest office or select "publishing offices" from our bookstore pages for details.

Canada • USA • UK • Republic of Ireland Contact Us URL http://www.trafford.com © 1995-2005 Trafford Publishing, a division of Trafford Holdings Ltd. Trafford's Privacy Policy: Client information will never be provided to anyone outside of Trafford and its subsidiaries except where required by law.