BRACE FOR IMPACT
“Miracle on the Hudson” Survivors Share Their Stories of Near Death and Hope for New Life
Listen to the Big Blend Radio interview with Kevin Quirk, who along with Dorothy Firman, co-authored BRACE FOR IMPACT.
On January 15, 2009, the world was mesmerized by “the miracle on the Hudson.” Against all odds, Captain Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger safely landed a plane plunging toward disaster on the river. More amazingly, all 150 passengers survived—and, for the most part, with nothing worse (physically) than a few bruises and soggy clothes. At the time, many of us tried to imagine how we would have those three chilling words—”Brace for impact”—and then, amazingly, been spared from certain death?
Over a year later, it’s time for a different, perhaps more meaningful story. What happened to these extremely fortunate passengers when they went home? What was it like to return to their families, their jobs, their neighborhoods—everything familiar, but somehow changed? How did they celebrate coming back from the brink of near-death trauma? How did their loved ones respond to the living proof of a miracle? What has been the real impact they braced for, not of the disaster and death they expected, but of the gift of a “new” life?
Intrigued by these and other questions, authors Dorothy Firman and Kevin Quirk set out to find answers—by asking the survivors themselves. The result is an inspiring collection of first-person accounts: Brace For Impact: “Miracle on the Hudson” Survivors Share Their Stories of Near Death and Hope for New Life (HCI Books). Along with the personal stories of 25 men and women profoundly affected by Flight 1549—survivors and first-responders—this volume offers lessons about faith, gratitude, wisdom, healing, love, and transformation for everyone in today’s world of upheaval and challenges.
See BRACE FOR IMPACT in Big Blend Radio & TV Magazine!