Reclaiming the Sky

by Tom Murphy

Among those who died, as well as those who lived and continue to live after the 9/11 attacks, there were many thousands of aviation professionals with names, families, lives, and individual experiences that are an important part of the 9/11 story. Some five years later, these stories are being told for the first time in Reclaiming the Sky. In the pages of this book, you will meet some of the people whose hard work propels a critical social and economic force -- the aviation industry -- and who on the morning of September 11th, were suddenly thrust into front-line positions in the battle to put our nation back on its feet. For many of these men and women and their families, the pain and after-effects of 9/11 are exceptionally acute, but their stories will serve as touchpoints for the thousands of people whose journey to closure is still ongoing. This powerful and ultimately uplifting book not only honors the heroes of September 11th, it also offers common ground to those in search of meaning and purpose in a changed world -- both in and outside of the air travel industry -- and gives Americans in all walks of life something they still seek five years after 9/11: the courage and strength to move forward."

Genres: Aviation, Nonfiction

214 pages, Hardcover

First published September 5, 2006

About the author

Born in Los Angeles, California, Tom grew up on Long Island in New York.

He attended Brooklyn Prep, Villanova University (for two years,) and graduated with a BA in English from the University of Wisconsin in 1971.

He taught in Boston Public Schools after college, before attending the University of British Columbia, where he earned an MFA in Creative Writing in 1978, and won a CBC Playwriting Award.

Following graduation, he worked as the editor of the Bayside Times, Queens’ largest weekly newspaper, then took a position as a university vice-president in Miami, Florida.

There he created the "Miami Nice" program, a project designed to teach customer service to taxi drivers, hotel workers and others. He was selected by South Florida Magazine as one of Miami’s "People to Watch." [PDF, 3.9MB]

He created The Service Institute and focused his initial customer service training efforts on major hotel chains and airports nationally.

Throughout the 1990s he trained 30,000 air travel workers at airports and airlines around the country. His close relationship with many of the aviation officials who were directly affected by 9/11 gave him a unique perspective to tell the "untold" aviation story of 9/11. In 2006 he published Reclaiming the Sky, a story about the courage of air travel workers in the face of great loss.

In his business consulting work, he works with aviation and other businesses to develop the potential of their "frontline" public contact staffs. His programs help employees and produce business gains for his clients. He continues to write (in 2004, he won honorable mention in a national screenwriting competition) and directs a national non-profit, the Center for Reclaiming the Sky. The program helps aviation workers recover from 9/11 and cope with the stresses of on-going threats.

Reviews

[Kendall · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, this is the only book about the September 11, 2011 tragedies that I have read. I have to admit that, though it was heart wrenching, it was difficult to get through. Like a lot of nonfiction books that toy with the line between printing necessary information and bombarding the reader with technical details, this book crossed that line a little. The result was a little dry.

It was interesting at times, but I found myself picking up other books in lieu of this one. Especially in the middle.

I would have voted 2 stars, except that it did draw some emotion, so that's gotta count for something (though I think it is more from the actual memory of the incident, and not stellar writing).

[Roberta Westwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking

Interesting angle on 9/11.
Real stories along with helpful means to reframe your thinking.

I listened to the Audible audiobook