Replacement Child
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
"Replacement Child by Judy L. Mandel is a book I recommend to anyone curious about the true story of one family who was caught up in the tragedy of the second plane crash.” —Judy Blume, from In the Unlikely Event
Judy L. Mandel was born into a family crippled by grief. But it would be years before she would discover the shocking circumstances of their loss.
In her award-winning memoir, Replacement Child—now a New York Times bestseller—Mandel tells the true story of a horrifying accident: A plane crashes into a family’s home, leaving one daughter severely burned and another dead. The death of the child leaves a hole in the family that threatens to tear it apart. In an attempt to fill the painful gap, the parents give birth to a “replacement child.”
This powerful tale of love and lies, family and hope, is an intimate account of being brought into the world to provide “a salve for the burns.” As a child, Mandel unwittingly rides the deep and hidden currents of her family’s grief—until her discovery of this family secret, years later, changes her life forever, forcing her to confront the complex layers of her relationships with her father, mother, and sister.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this well-researched tribute to her parents, journalist Mandel explores how a freak accident altered the fate of her family in 1952. What began as a normal January school day ended with the crash of American Airlines Flight 6780 into the Mandel family home in Elizabeth, New Jersey, three miles outside Newark airport. In addition to the oldest Mandel daughter, the pilot and all 22 passengers died that day. Following the recent loss of her parents, the author decides to piece together the event that incinerated one sister, left another sister severely burned, and prompted her conception as a "replacement" child. By cleverly shifting between recent years and the day of the crash, Mandel weaves together chapters of real and imagined scenes building to the inevitable. "I read that replacement children often feel they can never live up to the memory of the dead children. I recognize myself in some of the descriptions of those with this affliction." Without seeking to give a greater significance to the issue, the book grapples with the random forces that shape modern life. The parents who survive and overcome the death of a child emerge as true heroes, celebrating family birthdays and, eventually, becoming grandparents.
