The Woman Who Wasn't There

I watch a lot of morning TV when I am at the gym - I used to anyway.  I saw the authors of this book interviewed on the Today Show and the book just sounded fascinating.  Amazon and I have a fabulous relationship so when I asked, my good "friends" there shipped the book right to me.  

What's it about, well thanks for asking...

It was a tale of loss and recovery, of courage and sorrow, of horror and inspiration. Tania Head’s astonishing account of her experience on September 11, 2001—from crawling through the carnage and chaos to escaping the seventy-eighth-floor sky lobby of the burning south tower to losing her fiancé in the collapsed north tower—transformed her into one of the great victims and heroes of that tragic day.

Tania selflessly took on the responsibility of giving a voice and a direction to the burgeoning World Trade Center Survivors’ Network, helping save the “Survivor Stairway” and leading tours at Ground Zero, including taking then-governor Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg, and former mayor Giuliani on the inaugural tour of the WTC site. She even used her own assets to fund charitable events to help survivors heal. But there was something very wrong with Tania’s story—a terrible secret that would break the hearts and challenge the faith of all those she claimed to champion.

Told with the unique insider perspective and authority of Angelo J. Guglielmo, Jr., a filmmaker shooting a documentary on the efforts of the Survivors’ Network, and previously one of Tania’s closest friends, The Woman Who Wasn’t There is the story of one of the most audacious and bewildering quests for acclaim in recent memory—one that poses fascinating questions about the essence of morality and the human need for connection at any cost. 

I have to admit I read some parts of it while up with the baby in the middle of the night so a few parts are fuzzy, but overall I thought the book was fascinating.  I am intrigued by people and why they do what they do, so this true story was especially interesting.  The only thing missing was an interview with Tania.  I really wanted her version of the events and an explanation for her actions but I'm sure I'm not the only one.  I would give it a solid B+

If anyone wants to borrow the book let me know and I will send it to you.  I won't read it again and am trying to limit the books I keep to books that I absolutely loved.