Cantor Fitzgerald partner Lauren Manning was running late on the morning of September 11, 2001, rushing for the elevator in the lobby of the North Tower when the plane hit. Her life was spared, but her survival was far from a sure thing: she was burned over much of her body and it took years of rehab to recover. Most people would crumble under that kind of pain and hardship, but not Manning. She wasn't afraid to demand transfer to a burn unit from the ER--anyone who's worried about being a bother to medical pros or who hesitates to disagree with a doctor should take lessons. If she and her husband, Greg, hadn't insisted on a move from St. Vincent's to a hospital with more specialized facilities, she might not have been alive to write this memoir.
Her story was chronicled in Love, Greg and Lauren, a 2002 compilation of e-mails from her husband updating friends and family on her condition. By contrast, Unmeasured Strength is in Manning's own voice and goes a long way in conveying the sheer moxie it takes to recover from such a horrific injury. But her aggressiveness is balanced by her willingness to push her body to its limits to ensure her recovery, and that's what makes Unmeasured Strength so inspiring. The details of her injuries are graphic and she's blunt about the unpleasant realities of what she suffered. There's no grand return to corporate America. But Manning has the chance to see her son grow up, and that's triumph enough to make this a memoir quite moving. --Kelly Faircloth, freelance writer