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A review by bethgiven
Let's Roll!: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage by Lisa Beamer
5.0
I’m not certain why I wanted to read this book. I couldn’t watch the Discovery Channel’s program on United flight 93, the flight on 9-11 that went down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. I liked the idea of there being heroes on the flight — people who sacrificed their lives and thwarted part of the terrorists’ evil plans — but when I start thinking too hard, I realize that those heroes were ordinary people like me, with dreams and friends and families. I remember my feelings on September 11, 2001 — how much worse would it have been if it had been my loved one who had been caught in the wreckage? That documentary was causing me to think about it too much, so I turned it off, with no desire to try watching again.
Maybe that’s what possessed me to pick up this book from the library — I wasn’t thinking too much. I was trying to scan through the 973’s while simultaneously keeping an eye on a toddler who wanted to run through the aisles and hide from me. When I pulled it off the shelf, I didn’t have time to consider if I really wanted to check it out.
But later, as I cracked the book and began reading Lisa Beamer’s story, I started wondering. I wanted to read an uplifting book. Was this really it?
I made it through the first, short chapter, and the topic turned from the events of 9-11 to a biography of Todd’s childhood. It intrigued me that he had grown up in Glen Ellyn, Illinois — it’s not far from where I now live. Though he had moved from Chicagoland in the 90s and I hadn’t arrived until recently, I was intrigued.
Lisa then went on to share experiences from her childhood, including the premature death of her father. Her grieving was private but deep — she questioned God and why he had allowed such a thing to happen. Slowly, though, her testimony was strengthened — something she’d rely on for the rest of her life, something that would carry her through her hardest trials. I wasn’t too far into the book when I realized that Lisa really “got it”:
"Slowly I began to understand that the plans God has for us don’t just include “good” things, but the whole array of human events … I remember my mom saying that many people look for miracles — things that in their human minds “fix” a difficult situation. Many miracles, however, are not a change to the normal course of human events; they’re found in God’s ability and desire to sustain and nurture people through even the worst situations. Somewhere along the way, I stopped demanding that God fix the problems in my life and started to be thankful for his presence as I endured them." (p. 68)
Those powerful words reminded me of a favorite quote from Elder Maxwell:
Therefore, true enduring represents not merely the passage of time, but the passage of the soul. (Neal A. Maxwell, “Endure It Well”, Ensign, May 1990, 33)
This book is not about heartbreak or heartache; it’s not even a tribute to a great American hero (though Todd’s actions were certainly heroic). It’s about how faith in God can carry you through times of sorrow and despair. There were parts of the book that were sad to read (after finishing up the chapters on the actual crash, I was getting really nervous about my own husband’s mortality), but Lisa’s reactions and her faith in God were truly inspiring.
So. An uplifting book, after all! Lisa Beamer has become one of my personal heroes.
Maybe that’s what possessed me to pick up this book from the library — I wasn’t thinking too much. I was trying to scan through the 973’s while simultaneously keeping an eye on a toddler who wanted to run through the aisles and hide from me. When I pulled it off the shelf, I didn’t have time to consider if I really wanted to check it out.
But later, as I cracked the book and began reading Lisa Beamer’s story, I started wondering. I wanted to read an uplifting book. Was this really it?
I made it through the first, short chapter, and the topic turned from the events of 9-11 to a biography of Todd’s childhood. It intrigued me that he had grown up in Glen Ellyn, Illinois — it’s not far from where I now live. Though he had moved from Chicagoland in the 90s and I hadn’t arrived until recently, I was intrigued.
Lisa then went on to share experiences from her childhood, including the premature death of her father. Her grieving was private but deep — she questioned God and why he had allowed such a thing to happen. Slowly, though, her testimony was strengthened — something she’d rely on for the rest of her life, something that would carry her through her hardest trials. I wasn’t too far into the book when I realized that Lisa really “got it”:
"Slowly I began to understand that the plans God has for us don’t just include “good” things, but the whole array of human events … I remember my mom saying that many people look for miracles — things that in their human minds “fix” a difficult situation. Many miracles, however, are not a change to the normal course of human events; they’re found in God’s ability and desire to sustain and nurture people through even the worst situations. Somewhere along the way, I stopped demanding that God fix the problems in my life and started to be thankful for his presence as I endured them." (p. 68)
Those powerful words reminded me of a favorite quote from Elder Maxwell:
Therefore, true enduring represents not merely the passage of time, but the passage of the soul. (Neal A. Maxwell, “Endure It Well”, Ensign, May 1990, 33)
This book is not about heartbreak or heartache; it’s not even a tribute to a great American hero (though Todd’s actions were certainly heroic). It’s about how faith in God can carry you through times of sorrow and despair. There were parts of the book that were sad to read (after finishing up the chapters on the actual crash, I was getting really nervous about my own husband’s mortality), but Lisa’s reactions and her faith in God were truly inspiring.
So. An uplifting book, after all! Lisa Beamer has become one of my personal heroes.