A Story About Love

This year is the twentieth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.  Shortly before Margaret, Sam, and I joined Jill, Joe, and Rita to ring in the new year in Bay Head, I finished my final book of 2020. 

"What Brothers Do" 

Michael Everett Brown, M.D. 

Dr. Michael Everett Brown is, in his own right, an extraordinary human.  His big brother, FDNY Captain Patrick "Paddy" Brown of Ladder 3, was larger-than-life. Paddy Brown was a legendary figure in the FDNY long before he was killed in the collapse of the North Tower on September 11, 2001.  

Michael Brown's book is an incredibly worthwhile read.  It is evident throughout just how much reverence Dr. Brown felt for his big brother.  The greatness of his book is not that he recounts the stories of his brother's heroism, which he does.  His book's greatness is found in the way he humanizes his brother.  It was on a human level that Paddy Brown's life - and death - had the greatest impact.  He was far more than a hero. He was a son, a brother, and a great friend.  His death affected not simply the city he loved, it affected those he loved and those who loved him most of all. 

The final line of Dr. Brown's book is, "I started out writing a story about pain and ended up writing a story about love."  Indeed, he did.  

-AK