A talk with David Handschuh

This week, we had the pleasure of having a Skype session with David Handschuh, the New York Daily News photojournalist who was injured when the towers fell on 9/11. He shared with us how he remembers that day, the emotional, mental and physical impact, and how he was able to recover from it all.

It was incredible to have the opportunity to talk with him and to hear his personal recollection of the day. I very much admired his ambition when going in to cover the story. He was on his way to talk at a local college, but as soon as he got word of the first tower being hit, his plans for the day changed in a way he never would have expected.

I was amazed at how well he remembered the events of that day. Often times, details of the traumatic event can be clouded because of the emotional, mental, physical, spiritual, etc. impact of it all. But he shared his story with strength and certainty, almost like it happened yesterday.

It was incredibly fascinating to hear his story of recovery after the tragedy. It's one thing to read about the experience of a trauma survivor, or to read about what to expect from those recovering from trauma, but being able to hear his account with a haunted tone was absolutely incredible. 

Handschuh also shared his story of being laid off by the news organization in which he worked for and published his work on the tragedy of 9/11. Everyone seemed to be shocked by the decision, and even more shocked that the paper continued on to downsize the paper and let go of even more employees. Handschuh had worked for the paper for 27 years.

What I admired most about Handschuh, aside from his ambitious work ethic, was his resilience. He fought to overcome the trauma that he was left dealing with in the aftermath of the event, and did so heroically. He also showed strength when being cut from his position at the paper, and said he would overcome this obstacle just as he did the trauma of being stuck beneath the rubble of the Twin Towers. I am so very grateful to have had the opportunity to listen to his story and have the utmost respect for him and his contribution to journalism.