Lydia's Page

This book popped up in my audiobook app's Recommended For You section, and I hardly hesitated before starting the download. As a runner and a person with deep personal connections to New England and Boston, the marathon bombings struck hard. In Colorado, was glued to Twitter, refreshing every ten seconds and ignoring my schoolwork. 

This book, written by a pair of journalists, wasn't without its biases and moments that made me question the way we think about radicalism, religion, and the "Other" in this country. But it also gave me a much better understanding of those fraught days in Boston, when all the media was frenzied and inaccurate. 

And, as always, I completely lost it when the book moved into stories of survival, unity, and a city rallying together. There's something about David Ortiz-- light of my little middle-school heart-- yelling, "This is our f--king city!" before the first post-bombing Red Sox game that just gets me. 

My niece just started college in Boston this week, and listening to the audiobook and the thick Boston accent, added to all my emotions. I love New England. I love Boston. I love the spirit of the marathon.