"Writing this memoir was truly a catharsis for me"

Editor's Note: Below is an excerpt from an interview with author Craig T. Greenlee in Black Pearls Online Magazine. The Q&A is featured in the "Speak Brothers Speak" section on the web site. BPM is a free digital magazine whose purpose is to inspire, encourage and empower an international readership. The magazine's mission is to provide information that is essential, enlightening and entertaining.

http://www.blackpearlsmagazine.com/speakbrothers.html

BPM: Who did you write the book for? Why now? Why was this book important to create?

Greenlee: The book was written primarily for those folks whose personal stories about the crash have never been told before. Looking back on the publication process, I realized that I also wrote this book for myself, even though I wasn’t consciously aware of it at the time. After finishing the manuscript, it dawned on me that writing this memoir was a truly a catharsis for me.

There is closure, but I’m not sure if it’s complete. Maybe that’s why I feel driven to produce a sequel in the near future.  On several levels, it might seem strange that it took more than four decades for this book to come to fruition. But I’ve concluded that it’s all about timing. The time has finally arrived for this story to get widespread exposure.

In years past, quite a few people who had stories to share were not eager to do so for one reason or another. But now, those same people have shown a willingness to be candid about all of the emotional ups and downs that they experienced as it relates to the crash and its aftermath.

This is a story that’s long overdue. So now, readers can examine the human interest aspect of this historical event – directly from the mouths of those who were on the scene at the time. Readers will discover that while football is the centerpiece for the book, there are so many other elements involved that when combined, make for a riveting story.