READ THIS: Face of Courage: Rise from the Rubble By Joseph Cammarata

Many people in Manhattan are all about moving on past 9/11.  We think you should not dwell on it, but you should never forget it.  Peachy Deegan recently was at a business lunch with someone dear from California visiting, and they enjoyed themselves and ate their food and had a lovely conversation, not in a total rush.  The table next to them ate very quickly, quite businesslike, and were in and out of this upscale midtown sit down establishment in just over half an hour.  If 9/11 didn't teach Manhattan to slow down a little and appreciate life, we're not sure what would.  We are all about accomplishment and efficiency, but quality is important too and 9/11 taught us all to appreciate our lives as Americans.  Joseph Cammarata was personally affected by 9/11 primarily by the loss of his brother, but in Face of Courage you will see how this one event really changed a family and how someone overcame adversity.  It is a touching story, and Peachy liked it so much, she had the Read This panel check it out too. We recommend it!

Our panel states:

I remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news about 9/11, as I'm sure everyone does.  I remember watching the news more than I ever had before, curious as to what was going on.  After seeing all the hard work the NYFD, NYPD and all the volunteers who helped had put into rescue efforts at Ground Zero, I had a new found respect for them.  The only stories I heard were ones from the news or The Today Show.  After reading Face of Courage: Rise From the Rubble by Joseph M. Cammarata, I now have even more respect for everyone that helped.  I can't imagine what it must be like working rescue efforts at Ground Zero, but knowing someone who was in the WTC when it happened would've been too much for me to handle.  Joseph Cammarata's story is a truly inspiring one.  He was able to tell his story and heal at the same time.  Being an elementary teacher, every year I have students ask me about 9/11.  Many of them now only know about it because they hear older siblings or parents talk about it or were too young to remember it.  Now I can give them a little more insight on what it was like for one family.

Great story, there must be many  other untold stories like" Face of Courage" that we will come to know.  In times of stress, whether it be personal or public, many instances of depression occur. The results are not always like Joesph  Cammarata's rise above this curse.  We all can learn from these examples of over coming the downward sprial of despair.  Everytime I read about valor,courage and compassion, I have a better understanding  of how handle life's set backs.  Joseph Cammarata said it best: Every morning I wake up and get out of bed. I take a slow walk to the mirror,stare at myself ,and look deep within my soul. I am fortunate enough to see happiness looking back at me. I am blessed to see a vibrant reflection of hope. 


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On Sept. 11, 2001, New York City police officer Joseph Cammarata was on the deck of the Staten Island Ferry, plunging toward the burning World Trade Center, when the South Tower suddenly collapsed. He knew it had just fallen on top of his brother, brand-new FDNY firefighter Michael Cammarata.

No trace of Michael would ever be found. And no facet of Joseph’s life would be untouched by the tragedy.

Over the next decade, Joseph was buried under his own pile of emotional rubble: anger, anxiety, frustration, guilt. Now, in a new book, Face of Courage: Rise from the Rubble, Joseph Cammarata shares how he reached rock bottom and eventually, painfully, found his way back out of the abyss into which his brother’s senseless death had driven him.

He became controlling, driven, haunted by flashbacks. Nightmares of streets littered with body parts, buildings consumed by fire and fire trucks crushed like soda cans kept him sleep-deprived. He lost his friends. His wife divorced him. He stayed angry.

“My lifestyle after 9/11 altered the person I had been for 24 years and drained my soul,” he says. “I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”

Joseph wrote Face of Courage to show other people how they, too, can come back from despair.

“In every disaster, there are stories of hope and heroism. Good things come out of negativity. You just have to find them, no matter how long it takes,” he says.

Joseph also wrote the book to live out one of his brother’s last requests. A few days after 9/11, their mother had discovered an unmarked envelope in Michael’s dresser. Inside was a letter from her youngest son.

“If anything was ever to happen to me: (1) Take care of Jenna. (2) Don’t mourn me. This is the career I chose. (3) Make my spirit live on. (4) Remember I love you all and will be waiting for you upstairs.”

Joseph knew which directive was meant for him: Jenna was Michael’s girlfriend. Joseph, a cop, understood about career choice. He knew Michael loved his family. So it was #3, “Make my spirit live on,” that spoke to him.

Today, Joseph bears a portrait of his brother tattooed on the left side of his back, the same side as his heart.  He has attended innumerable memorials for his brother and others who fell on 9/11. He became a firefighter himself. And he has survived.

Visit www.911faceofcourage.com