Lisa Beamer, Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois, 2002, 312 pages, US$24.99, hardcover, Reviewed by Gary Krause, communication director for the Office of Global Mission at the General Conference.

et's Roll! is a modern-day American morality tale. Todd Beamer, a young husband and father, is caught up in a terrorist attempt on the now infamous United Flight 93 on September 11 last year. He joins other passengers in showing strength and courage trying to restrain the hijackers. Their action seems to precipitate the crash, but their deaths possibly save hundreds of other lives. (There's little doubt that hijackers were guiding the flight toward Washington D.C. to inflict further destruction in the nation's capital.)

But the book is more than this. The good die tragically, but their loved ones are left to continue without them, and to try to make some sense of it all. This book is the story of Todd's wife, Lisa, and how she picks up the pieces, cares for her three children, and keeps her faith and courage.

"Let's roll!" are the words Todd reportedly uttered just as the passengers made their move on the hijackers, resulting in the plane crashing some 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Todd's actions have captured the imagination of Americans in the uncertainty and anxiety following the events of September 11.

In such a climate it's perhaps natural that the country has focused on "heroes"--those who, in the face of adversity, have actually done something tangible in this intangible war. The New York firefighters, for example, have been elevated to almost mythical status for their courage in trying to rescue the dying in the Twin Towers. Stories of hope and courage amid the debris have played and replayed in magazines, newspapers, and on television. They're the stories of people who have done something. Somehow they've been involved, not just sitting by impassively.

Because we can't be real players, we're fascinated by those who are. It's almost as if their stories allow us a kind of vicarious participation in something that is one of the most significant events in modern American history. Lisa Beamer is a participant, yet so much like us. Her story resonates with an American public hungry for ways to make sense of it all. Here's a young mother, pregnant with her third child when her husband dies heroically, who not only continues her life, but does so with grace and style. Lisa Beamer is the real hero of Let's Roll!

The Essence
The essence of this 30-chapter book is contained in just 17 chapters. The first chapter gives a brief overview of the day that changed Beamer's life--from her husband waking early to catch his flight through to the awful moment when she's watching television and realizes it's his flight that crashed. The final 16 chapters provide the details--from a reconstruction of what happened on the flight through to how Beamer has coped with the tragedy. (I could take or leave the other 13 chapters.)

Before September 11 Todd and Lisa Beamer seemed just like half of middle-class America--sharing the same dreams, enjoying the same activities, facing similar challenges. It's a story of ordinary. Girl meets boy at Christian college. They marry. Have kids. The all-American family. (But although the book doesn't disclose the fact, the Beamers weren't ordinary in the financial sense. As a top salesman for Oracle, says Newsweek, Todd Beamer made a "fortune.")

Both Todd and Lisa Beamer grew up in evangelical Christian families. "Independence, patriotism, freedom, and the American way of life were not trite clichés tossed around lightly in our family," says Lisa Beamer, describing her upbringing. "They were highly treasured values."

Tragedy that it was, September 11 elevated her life from the commonplace and created her story. Since that tragedy Beamer has become a celebrity with appearances on TV breakfast shows, Oprah, Larry King Live, and Sixty Minutes, as well as being featured in Time, Newsweek, and various newspapers. Even the president of the United States saluted her during his address to Congress.

The book's first print run is a massive one million copies. Co-authored with writer Ken Abraham, it's simply written, with no aspirations to great literature. Some will find many of the early biographical references "cutesy" and unnecessary. But it's the overall story that's moving, not the writing.

Lisa Beamer is vital to the book's marketing. She toured 15 cities promoting the book. "Through photogenic good looks, eloquence, attitude and accessibility, she has come to represent not only fighting back but moving on," says the Washington Post. "A devout evangelical Christian, she has set for many an example of how to live after loss without losing one's spiritual mooring." Newsweek adds, "Beamer, clear-eyed and luminous, has become a symbol of inexplicable optimism and good will in the war on terror."

Unbearable Grief
Yet Let's Roll! describes the fears, pain and tears behind Beamer's public personae. At times her grief is unbearable, yet she testifies how Christian faith has sustained and strengthened her. There are many compelling scenes that will have readers reaching for tissues or a handkerchief. The episode where she explains to her eldest son that his daddy will not be coming home is particularly poignant.

Adventist readers will quickly skip over passages that refer to Todd Beamer now being in heaven, but resonate with how prayer, Bible promises, and the support of Christian friends have kept his wife's sanity. She says she hasn't had the time or energy to waste "harboring bitterness or resentment toward the perpetrators of the heinous attacks."

Don't expect a deep theological analysis of the problem of evil. Beamer speaks from her heart and experience, and simply believes that God allowed the events of September 11 to happen for some reason. And don't expect a detailed analysis of the politics of the war on terrorism. Patriotic to the core, Lisa implicitly trusts her government: "I am concerned that, to the extent possible on earth, this evil is stopped and innocent people are protected. That's not my job, but I'm confident our nation and our allies will make sure this happens."

Let's Roll! is a tribute to faith, courage, and faithfulness. Tributes don't come any better than that.