Love, Greg & Lauren 
asked by avi on November 21, 2006 8:13 AM
Early on the morning of September 11, 2001, Lauren Manning-a wife, the mother of a ten-month-old son, and a senior vice president and partner at Cantor Fitzgerald-came to work, as always, at One World Trade Center. As she stepped into the lobby, a fireball exploded from the elevator shaft, and in that split second her life was changed forever.
Lauren was burned over 82.5 percent of her body. As he watched his wife lie in a drug-induced coma in the ICU of the Burn Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Greg Manning began writing a daily journal. In the form of e-mails to family, friends, and colleagues, he recorded Lauren’s harrowing struggle-and his own tormented efforts to make sense of an act that defies all understanding. This book is that e-mail diary: detailed, intimate, inspiring messages that end, always, as if a prayer for a happy outcome:
LOVE, GREG & LAUREN
We share this story day by astonishing day. Greg writes of the intricate surgeries, the painful therapies, and the constant risk of infection Lauren endured. Through his eyes we come to know the doctors, nurses, aides, and therapists who cared for her around the clock with untiring devotion and sensitivity. We also come to know the families with whom he shared wrenching hospital vigils for their own loved ones who were waging a battle that some would not win.
It was, most of all, Greg’s belief that Lauren would win her brave fight for life that kept him writing. Through his eyes we see what she could not-their toddler’s first steps, the video of his first birthday party, the compassionate messages of hope from around the world. And we are there as Lauren gradually emerges into awareness, signaling first with her eyes, then with smiles, her understanding of the words Greg speaks to her, the poems he recites, the songs he plays.
Most miraculously, we are there when Lauren walks out of the Burn Center.
The world knows all too well both the nightmare and the heroism that have marked this terrible time in history. But no account of September 11 matches the astonishing personal story Greg Manning records in these spontaneous and heartfelt pages. It is a story that invites us to share, e-mail after e-mail, the perilous course of a mortally wounded woman who by sheer will and courage emerges from near death because she is determined to live for her husband and her son. And it is equally the story of a man who, as he stays by her side through these long weeks and months, discovers anew the depth of his love and admiration for the woman who becomes his hero.
Lauren was burned over 82.5 percent of her body. As he watched his wife lie in a drug-induced coma in the ICU of the Burn Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Greg Manning began writing a daily journal. In the form of e-mails to family, friends, and colleagues, he recorded Lauren’s harrowing struggle-and his own tormented efforts to make sense of an act that defies all understanding. This book is that e-mail diary: detailed, intimate, inspiring messages that end, always, as if a prayer for a happy outcome:
LOVE, GREG & LAUREN
We share this story day by astonishing day. Greg writes of the intricate surgeries, the painful therapies, and the constant risk of infection Lauren endured. Through his eyes we come to know the doctors, nurses, aides, and therapists who cared for her around the clock with untiring devotion and sensitivity. We also come to know the families with whom he shared wrenching hospital vigils for their own loved ones who were waging a battle that some would not win.
It was, most of all, Greg’s belief that Lauren would win her brave fight for life that kept him writing. Through his eyes we see what she could not-their toddler’s first steps, the video of his first birthday party, the compassionate messages of hope from around the world. And we are there as Lauren gradually emerges into awareness, signaling first with her eyes, then with smiles, her understanding of the words Greg speaks to her, the poems he recites, the songs he plays.
Most miraculously, we are there when Lauren walks out of the Burn Center.
The world knows all too well both the nightmare and the heroism that have marked this terrible time in history. But no account of September 11 matches the astonishing personal story Greg Manning records in these spontaneous and heartfelt pages. It is a story that invites us to share, e-mail after e-mail, the perilous course of a mortally wounded woman who by sheer will and courage emerges from near death because she is determined to live for her husband and her son. And it is equally the story of a man who, as he stays by her side through these long weeks and months, discovers anew the depth of his love and admiration for the woman who becomes his hero.
Reviews
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This book is a truly inspirational read. I haven't quite finished yet, but with every page comes more heart. I, like most others that have or will read this book, feel such an emotional draw to both Greg and Lauren, and my heart breaks over everything they went through. Reading this book not only instills a new found hope, but also a new understanding of what exactly it was like to have been in the shoes of people who were through so much and lost so much that terrible day 9/11/2001.
On a side note, the link that Greg mentions in one of his emails (politicsandprotest.com)is unfortunately no longer a valid link. FYI it will take you to a Penthouse site. Oops, I guess that's what happens after time. :(
reviewed by bigdv on November 24, 2006 2:09 PM
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I had really high hopes for this book and was really looking forward to reading it. I'm glad that I paid a dollar for it used because my money would have been wasted at much more than that.
Let me start by saying that I admire Lauren. She had the courage and will to survive a situation that myself and most others would not have. That being said, the way this story was told was just not interesting enough to take up an entire book. I found the first half of the book to be very tedious reading; I really had to force myself to keep going. I think that was because the first half was mostly about what was going on in Greg's life. Since Lauren was in a coma, there wasn't much for him to say about her so his emails are filled with extremely long detailed narratives on his son, his band, the Yankees and his feelings on 9/11. I suppose this kind of information might be interesting to friends and family, but I found it mostly boring to hear about the kind of food served at his child's birthday party and to hear in detail about each person he talked to every single day.
The second half of the book was better as Lauren woke up and the emails focus much more on her and her recovery. Since this was what I wanted and was expecting from this book, I found this part to be a much more enjoyable read.
As other reviewers have noted, the Mannings live a much more wealthy lifestyle than most Americans. I don't have a problem with this, but I just couldn't relate to them or their lives very well. I think I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if the Mannings were more like the rest of us. The only real struggle in the book was Lauren's physical recovery; the Mannings didn't have trouble paying the bills, had nannies to take care of their child, and Greg was able to take several months off work with no difficulty at all. To me, these everyday struggles would have made this story far more interesting. It also would have been interesting to hear from Lauren and Lauren's family more; all we ever heard was Greg's point of view on everything.
I would recommend this book only to the Manning's friends and family, to people who lost loved ones on 9/11, and those looking for information on the recovery process of burn survivors. For everyone else, you may or may not find this book interesting enough to finish. If you feel you want to go ahead and read it, consider picking it up at the library or buying it used.
Let me start by saying that I admire Lauren. She had the courage and will to survive a situation that myself and most others would not have. That being said, the way this story was told was just not interesting enough to take up an entire book. I found the first half of the book to be very tedious reading; I really had to force myself to keep going. I think that was because the first half was mostly about what was going on in Greg's life. Since Lauren was in a coma, there wasn't much for him to say about her so his emails are filled with extremely long detailed narratives on his son, his band, the Yankees and his feelings on 9/11. I suppose this kind of information might be interesting to friends and family, but I found it mostly boring to hear about the kind of food served at his child's birthday party and to hear in detail about each person he talked to every single day.
The second half of the book was better as Lauren woke up and the emails focus much more on her and her recovery. Since this was what I wanted and was expecting from this book, I found this part to be a much more enjoyable read.
As other reviewers have noted, the Mannings live a much more wealthy lifestyle than most Americans. I don't have a problem with this, but I just couldn't relate to them or their lives very well. I think I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if the Mannings were more like the rest of us. The only real struggle in the book was Lauren's physical recovery; the Mannings didn't have trouble paying the bills, had nannies to take care of their child, and Greg was able to take several months off work with no difficulty at all. To me, these everyday struggles would have made this story far more interesting. It also would have been interesting to hear from Lauren and Lauren's family more; all we ever heard was Greg's point of view on everything.
I would recommend this book only to the Manning's friends and family, to people who lost loved ones on 9/11, and those looking for information on the recovery process of burn survivors. For everyone else, you may or may not find this book interesting enough to finish. If you feel you want to go ahead and read it, consider picking it up at the library or buying it used.
reviewed by perfectstorm on November 26, 2006 6:33 PM
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There is a review on this book that you can read by a reviewer named Alex that I think all would find very informative. He is clearly a lot smarter, and by all means a lot deeper, than the writer of this book, and he is not afraid to tell you that. His superior intellect has come to the brilliant conclusion that a wealthy, and therefore soulless, burn victim is much less sympathetic than a poor, prolietariet one. He was also upset that Mr. Manning, with all of his money, could not buy himself better opinions on life, love and 9/11 other than the "banal" ones he professed in this book.
Apparently, Mr. Manning has not bought membership to the same blog site that feeds Alex his easy-bake revolutionary ideas like a sludgepump day in and day out. All Greg Manning has to go on in order to formulate his opinions and perspective on the 9/11 attacks is the FIRSTHAND, LIFE-SHATTERING VICTIMIZATION OF HIS FAMILY BY THE WORST ATTACK IN AMERICAN HISTORY. He's earned the right to his outlook on these events more than Alex ever will. Alex sounds like somebody who never experienced getting the #@&*-end-of-the-stick in life, and if he did, he's emerged from it in a cynical, twisted state. You can not like the book, without calling a burn victim's husband stupid. Stupid.
Greg Manning seems like a decent man who has demonstrated through his actions and words the true love he has for his brave wife. This is a fantastic, heartwarming book about an inspirational fight for survival that will make its readers cry in both sadness and joy. Those who have had loved ones in critical care will relate and sympathize for these people, irregardless of their economic success.
Apparently, Mr. Manning has not bought membership to the same blog site that feeds Alex his easy-bake revolutionary ideas like a sludgepump day in and day out. All Greg Manning has to go on in order to formulate his opinions and perspective on the 9/11 attacks is the FIRSTHAND, LIFE-SHATTERING VICTIMIZATION OF HIS FAMILY BY THE WORST ATTACK IN AMERICAN HISTORY. He's earned the right to his outlook on these events more than Alex ever will. Alex sounds like somebody who never experienced getting the #@&*-end-of-the-stick in life, and if he did, he's emerged from it in a cynical, twisted state. You can not like the book, without calling a burn victim's husband stupid. Stupid.
Greg Manning seems like a decent man who has demonstrated through his actions and words the true love he has for his brave wife. This is a fantastic, heartwarming book about an inspirational fight for survival that will make its readers cry in both sadness and joy. Those who have had loved ones in critical care will relate and sympathize for these people, irregardless of their economic success.
reviewed by pits on November 27, 2006 10:00 PM