This September marks 25 years since the attacks of 11 September 2001. For Lisa-Jayne Lewis, Financial Giving Advisor at the Diocese of Gloucester, the anniversary brings back memories of an experience that has stayed with her ever since she served as a Salvation Army recovery chaplain at Ground Zero. This month, she releases her book, ‘Orchids from Hawaii’, sharing her memories of the recovery operation and reflecting on how the experience has shaped her life and faith.
Lisa-Jayne was just 23 when the attacks happened and 24 when she joined the recovery operation in New York. Having moved to America from Guildford in her early twenties, she found herself among the thousands of people involved in the enormous rescue and recovery effort. Working as a night chaplain, she ministered alongside Salvation Army personnel, firefighters, police officers, Port Authority workers and many others.
Her experience stayed with her long after she returned home. Training for Salvation Army ministry and being ordained in 2005 gave her a new perspective, but the experience of Ground Zero remained largely unspoken.
“I’ve spent a long time doubting my story, doubting what I had done to the point of believing that wasn’t real and that wasn’t me. I’ve got a piece of the World Trade Centre at home. It’s just been sitting there wrapped away in the cupboard. I didn’t want to get rid of it, but for years I’ve wanted nothing to do with it,” she said.
Writing Orchids from Hawaii has helped her reclaim that story: “I came to recognise that although 9/11 has a shared, collective memory, everyone affected carries their own experiences and memories. My story is my story, it belongs to me, and it’s worth telling.”
The title comes from a striking memory from Ground Zero. A Salvation Army team arriving from Hawaii brought pink orchid leis for those working at the site. Against the grey, brown and black landscape, the flowers brought an unexpected flash of colour and beauty.
“Those flowers became a symbol of hope. In a situation as horrifying as this, faith has to fill the gap. When reason and lived experience don’t match up, I think that’s where we have to put in things like faith and hope,” Lisa-Jayne said.
The book has taken four years to write, beginning unexpectedly through Lisa-Jayne’s connection with the Eurovision Song Contest. “During the tail end of the pandemic, as an Italian act was tipped to win the competition, I researched the band members and noticed that two of them had been born in 2001, the year of the attacks.
“They were babies. They don’t remember it. I realised, we’ve now got adults walking the planet that don’t remember this happening.”
The thought stayed with her, and a year later, while in Turin for Eurovision, she decided she might finally be ready to write the book. “I’ve had moments where I’ve been able to write loads. I’ve had moments where I’ve been able to write nothing. It’s been a labour of love, really.”
She returned to Italy to finish the book, writing in a small Tuscan village. Afterwards, she walked beside a stream and spotted pink flowers.
“I was like, okay, I’m taking that as a sign. I don’t know how much I believe in signs, symbols and things, but I’m taking that as a sign. Pink flowers have been all the way through.”
Orchids from Hawaii is available to pre-order now for release on 4 September →
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