Find the Helpers: What 9/11 and Parkland Taught Me about Recovery, Purpose, and Hope (Grief Recovery)

by Guttenberg, Fred
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ISBN: 9781642505351
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Overview

This is a story of being called out of your happily ordinary life to step up into an extraordinary one. It is about heeding the call to be a helper and taking on the challenge of a lifetime. Fred Guttenberg is one such helper who comes from a family of individuals who find ways, large and small, to be a good in the world. Fred was a successful businessman for whom family was a priority--as father, husband, son, and brother. The Guttenberg family's life changed forever on a Valentine's Day 2018. What was supposed to be a day celebrating love turned into a nightmare, when Jaime Taylor Guttenberg, fourteen, was shot and killed in a hallway while fleeing a gunman with an AR-15 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. As the school, state, and entire nation reeled in horror as the result of yet another school shooting, a community formed dedicated to putting an end to the violence and murder of children.

Jamie was the star of her family who loved to dance, practicing for many hours so her performances would bring joy to whoever saw them. That she and so many of her fellow students were struck down in cold blood as they were coming into their own galvanized many to action, including Jamie's father Fred who has become an activist dedicated to helping pass legislation that will put a stop to the ready availability of military-grade weapons.

Fred Guttenberg has witnessed tragic deaths before at the hands of madmen. Fred's brother Michael, one of the original first responders to the World Trade Center on 9/11, became trapped with a team of physicians inside one of the towers as it collapsed. Amazingly, the room that they hid out in did not collapse and Michael and his team of physicians went on to spend sixteen days at Ground Zero rescuing and caring for victims. As a result of the exposure to toxic substances there, Michael was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer which he battled, with Fred's help and support, until his death on October 2017. Fred was still grieving the loss of his brother when he lost his daughter Jamie--one of 17 victims brutally murdered--to another national tragedy. After the shooting at Marjory Stone Douglas High, Fred's life would be forever changed. While grieving, Fred found himself unable to stand still. At a vigil the day after the shooting, he was asked to speak. That was the start of a new public life for Fred. His anger and grief gave him a new purpose as an American advocate in the fight for public safety.

Fred Guttenberg had loved watching Mr. Rogers with Jamie and his son, Jesse, while they were little. Their favorite of Mr. Roger's considerable wisdom was this piece of advice, in the midst of tragedy find the helpers "because if you look for the helpers, you'll know there's hope."

Fred's story is an American story. It is an exemplar of how we can take loss, hurt, and pain and transform it into positive action. In this powerful and inspiring book, Fred shows how we can all become agents of positive change as well as identify people who can join in making a change. Find the Helpers is an unforgettable story with an important reminder that we can make this a better world. We are, indeed, better together.

  • Format: Hardcover
  • Author: Guttenberg, Fred
  • ISBN: 9781642505351
  • Condition: Used
  • Dimensions: 8.60 x 0.80
  • Number Of Pages: 198
  • Publication Year: 2020

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