This is the story of a man and his guide dog on the day of the 9/11 attacks. But it's a lot more than that. Mike and his dog, Roselle, were on the 78th floor of Tower 1 of the World Trade Center when a plane was flown into the floors above them.
From there, it's a trek of 1,463 stairs to the lobby. Mike has Roselle to be his eyes, and he also has his friend, David, to tell him what's going on around them. They have no idea what's happened and no cell service, but the smell of jet fuel in the stairwell gives them a clue.
Sprinkled in the tale of the Tower are memories of Mike's childhood. He was never brought up to see his blindness as a handicap, and now he's using everything he's learned to make it through one of the worst days America has ever seen.
At first, I was a little annoyed at the interruptions of the narrative. It made the story pretty nonlinear to start with 9/11, then go back to the past, then jump back and forth. Then, I understood what Mike was doing. He didn't want to just tell the story of that day. He wanted to use his experience to educate people about blindness. Seeing it from that point of view, the story made more sense, and I was more on board with the structure.
I'm going to say this is one of the most interesting things I've read in a while. Experiencing that day from the point of view of a person so close to it, someone who had to describe not what they see, but what they felt and heard, was so different. I commend Roselle for her calm and dedication that day. She helped more people than just Mike, and I was glad to read she was recognized for her work. The downside of loving dogs is we don't deserve their love back, and they're never here long enough for us to even get close to try and earn it. Good Book!
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