NEW YORK, Aug. 30, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- When Valerie Barlow met President George W. Bush in Shanksville, Penn., to remember the victims of the Sept. 11 tragedy, she mourned the loss of her father-in-law. In her new book, "Are You Alive?" (now available through AuthorHouse), she describes how Sept. 11 was one day in a string of painful events that began with the sudden death of her husband on their honeymoon and later brought a diagnosis of cancer.
As a child in Hong Kong, Barlow was full of energy and ambition. She broke the rules, traveled freely and set her mind to achieve her goals. She was drawn to the Western world. After a brief marriage, she found herself wondering what to do next. She met a kind man online named Alan. After speaking with each other over the phone for some time, Alan asked her to move to Brooklyn. She packed her things, left her teaching career and moved to New York.
Alan was the love her life. With a simple, touching wedding at City Hall in Manhattan, their life together seemed to be destined for happiness -- until their honeymoon in California. On Sept. 8, 2001, a car accident on a winding road killed Alan and severely injured Barlow. The last words she heard him say to her were selfless: "Are you alive?"
Flooded with grief, Barlow began the long road to recovery. Several limbs were broken, and she required many surgeries and physical therapy. On Sept. 11, 2001, the news came of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. The following day her suspicions were confirmed: Her father-in-law, who had been traveling to California to see her and recover his deceased son, had been a passenger on Flight 93.
Barlow, who had spent her life repressing emotions and being fiercely independent, had faced more traumatic events in one week than many ever would. When a doctor in New York later informed her she had cervical cancer, she tackled this problem head on.
In her new book, she chronicles her experiences in a moving, honest way. Her story is both horrifying and inspirational; its haunting photographs of Alan tell both of a life gone forever and a love that will always remain. In "Are You Alive?" this strong woman illustrates her courage and shows the adventurous spirit that helped her endure.
Barlow and her four siblings grew up in an apartment in Hong Kong. She received her education in the British colony's private school system and became an elementary English teacher after college. Barlow moved to the United States in 1999 and resides in Brooklyn, N.Y. More information is available at www.valeriebarlow.com.
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