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The Other Side of Nothing: A Survivor’s Journey toward Healing by Hilda M. Valentine
Hilda M. Valentine grew up on a small farm, attended college, and moved to New York for a better life. Working in insurance claims for more than twenty years, she climbed the ranks to a claims management position and finally landed her dream job as a supervising case manager for a structured settlement company. Her office was located on the 100th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade center in Manhattan. The position started in August of 2001. But one month later, on September 11th, everything changed.
In The Other Side of Nothing, she shares her survival story. It’s the story of being at her desk when the first plane hit the North Tower. It’s the story of being in the stairwell, on the seventy-fifth floor, just below the impact as the second plane struck the South Tower. But most importantly, this is the story of the long road of healing that followed.
This memoir offers insight into the aftermath of a 9/11 survivor and how God’s word and his grace and his mercy sustained her throughout the journey.
The Other Side of Nothing, A Survivor’s Journey Toward Healing by Hilda M. Valentine is an inspiring gripping account of the life of a survivor of the September 11th attack on the Twin Towers.
I found this book inspiring and riveting. Despite how terribly Hilda Valentine has suffered, this is not a story full of self-pity, but rather one of courage, faith, and inspiration. It is a well written enthralling account of how she was caught up during and in the aftermath of the twin tower strike by an aircraft, and her struggle, faith, and courage to survive and create a new thriving life for herself after this traumatic event seemed to strip away the wonderful life she had and the things and people she held dear.
Ironically, Hilda Valentine had to overcome her fear of heights before she could accept the job on the 100th floor in the World Trade Center, so her mental anguish was horribly devastating and debilitating when the tower was attacked. September the 11th should have been an ordinary workday when she entered the tower, but extraordinary events caused her life to change forever.
Hilda skillfully and expressively describes the total confusion around her when Tower Two was hit and how a kind and courageous stranger helped her make it down and out to ground level. She explains this stranger prayed with her and said, “Now I know what God has called me to do.’’ She believes, and I do too, that this brave and insightful man was sent there by God to help her and save her life.
Like many survivors, she not only had to cope with and adjust to life-altering injuries, but also had to cope with the severe mental sufferings of various types and degrees and the trauma and guilt she felt when she escaped death. She wondered why she was spared while others died.
The relatives, friends, and lovers can also be victims of this tragedy. This incident affected her family and her relationship with others. The author did not initially recognize that she needed psychological help and distanced herself mentally and physically from her family. Her daughter admits that she almost lost permanent contact with her mother and explains how this affected her, and she shares the coping strategies she used.
Healing after such a traumatic event is a lengthy process. What shines through in this book is her unwavering faith in God. Despite the pain and mental distress, she endured, her persistent faith in the Lord helped her pull through and start a new life. To come to terms with the many changes in her life, her disability and inability to work, she had to learn to forgive the perpetrators and move on. In forgiving them, she was set free and able to start a new life filled with hope, happiness, and the love for others.
Read The Other Side of Nothing, A Survivor’s Journey Toward Healing’ by Hilda M. Valentine to learn of one amazing woman’s account and journey of the aftermath of the 911 tragedy and how she faced her personal challenges through her faith in God and how through the power of forgiveness she was able to miraculously live a new, wonderfully blessed life filled with happiness and peace.
Buy The Other Side of Nothing, A Survivor’s Journey Toward Healing’ by Hilda M. Valentine today!!
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