True stories of compassion, heroism, and kindness in the midst of a historic tragedy.

Every tragedy has its heroes, and there were many in the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., on 9/11 and in the difficult days that followed. In this inspiring volume, Jackie Waldman, author of The Courage to Give, has collected the dramatic stories of some of the firefighters, rescue workers, police, medics, relatives searching for missing loved ones, and everyday people who, in the face of horror, sprang into action to save lives and help their communities. From the ASPCA leader who lost a sister that day and went on to lead an effort to rescue abandoned pets from the area, to the music student who went to Ground Zero to play for the toiling rescue workers, these vivid accounts, written in the immediate aftermath, paint a vivid picture of that infamous event—and remind us of what is best in us even in the worst of times.