What to read during sad times?

Where were you on September 11th?

We've all been asked...and asking...that question in the wake of the 10 year anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center as well as the Pentagon. I'll never forget being a sophomore in college. I walked into geology class but the teaching assistant quickly ushered us back out, telling us that we were embarking on World War III since the Twin Towers had been hit by a plane.

I was confused. Now, this was pre-smartphones, Facebook and Twittter. MySpace was an underground hub for Indie music lovers. Basically, word-of-mouth was it. Adjacent to the School of Geology was the School of Journalism, or the J-School. It's known for its countless flatscreen TV's all broadcasting various entertainment and news channels. Crowds filed around the J-School monitors. Girls sat on guys' shoulders while peering at the screens. All of the stations showed one thing: the mayheim on the morning of September 11, 2001.

People were crying and began to rush home. Many were on their cell phones. Little by little, I inched my way to a place where I could see the captions on the monitors. It couldn't believe I was watching real footage; I genuinely thought it was a prank. Remember: this was at the height of Ashton Kutcher's wildly popular show, Punk'd. Finally, I made it home and my friends and I camped out in front of the TV for the rest of the day. I'll never forget the soot-covered pedestrians who looked like statues; the mass exodus on the Brooklyn bridge, the frenzied family members who tearfully searched for their loved ones...

We will never forget.

During times like these the nation unites in gratitude, hope, remembrance and sobriety. Many of us are examining ourselves. If you're in the reading (or journaling) mood, let these great works stir you:

The Bible
9/11 is a teachable moment. After recounting where I was, I explained to my daughter that my generation is now called the "9/11 Generation". No doubt, this tragic event is the single most impactful event for those who were high schoolers and twenty-somethings at the time of the attacks. As a family, we read Ecclesiastes 3, A Time for Everything. I was touched that President Obama read Psalm 46 from one of the sites. The Bible, without question, is a balm in seasons of pain.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff (and it's all small stuff)
Want perspective? Get this little book! My favorite entry is "Do One Thing At a Time," since I've come to grips with the fact that I suck at multi-tasking. I learned just this morning that the author Richard Carlson passed away suddenly in 2006 from a heart attack. Wow. In researching him, I discovered that he was truly a man who walked his talk!

The Purpose-Driven Life
A cozy, easy-to-read but hard-to-forget guide to living godly and missional lives. When I think of this book, I think of the quote "On your capstone there is a sunrise and a sunset. What matters is what you do with the dash in the middle."

The Last Lecture
A sweet, tender little book jam-packed with wisdom on one's legacy, vision and calling. You'll be simultaneously broken and uplifted. Dr. Randy Pausch died of pancreatic cancer but he left behind a beautiful heart song about living. It all stemmed from a viral lecture. It's so awesome that I'm going to letcha have the goodness below!