REVIEW for Down Around Midnight

A big thank you goes out Meghan Fellon for sending me a copy of this book.





TITLE: Down Around Midnight

AUTHOR: Robert Sabbag

GENRE: Memoir

RATING: 4 Stars



I thought that when I started reading Down Around Midnight, I would be reading the story of a plane crash. However, little did I know that this book and this author would offer up soooo much more than just the usual "this is what happened" fluff that you sometimes find in this type of memoir.

First off, this is a true story an is scary in itself. Imagine getting on a plane and it crashing - the reason - pilot error (not to mention irresponsibility and stupidity). On a summer night in 1979 author Sabbag was on a plane near Hyannis and it crashed into a forest. The pilot died, Sabbag was injured and could not walk and several of the passengers were hurt. Yet, one brave woman went for help and by the grace of god, Sabbag was found and survived. However, Sabbag obviously missed the memo where he might be suffering from PTS and actually did not talk about his experience for over 20 years until one day he decided to "look into" and actually share his experience in the form of a book.

Over the course of this self-discovery, Sabbag realized that he was in denial for years and NEEDED to find out more information about why the plane crashed and more specifically about his fellow passengers. So, with much research, this book details the horrible coincidences (maybe there is no such thing?) and all the events that were set in motion that would eventually end up playing itself out that night in 1979. This book is harrowing in many, many ways - from the history of the pilot who SHOULD NOT have been flying to the brave people on the plane and how they managed to get past the event (or not) and lastly to Sabbag himself who needed to go on this journey through the most traumatic event in his life to understand himself better.

Yes, this book is about a plane crash, but it is about soooo much more.

Written with a frank honesty that touched me deeply, I simply loved this book.