A Note From Sandra

…received a lot of buzz when it was published in the spring of 1995 within weeks of the Oklahoma City bombing. The book was written a year prior to its publication and thus the bombing, but my fictitious Brotherhood bore an unsettling resemblance to extremists groups which came into the forefront of public awareness following this national tragedy.

Another personal sidebar: both my children were attending the University of Oklahoma that spring. The main campus is in Norman, but the Health Sciences Center is in Oklahoma City, blocks away from the Murrah Federal Building. My daughter was in class there when the bomb was detonated. A few weeks later, one of her graduation ceremonies was held in the First Baptist Church. Plywood had replaced the stained glass windows of the beautiful, historic sanctuary. Devastation and destruction were evident all over the downtown area. Seeing it left me feeling violated and vulnerable.

The university graduates wore blue ribbons on their gowns in honor of the victims and survivors, as well as the brave and tireless rescuers, some of whom my children knew. Actor James Garner delivered the commencement address. He was wonderful. Probably the most poignant moment of graduation weekend occurred when one of the survivors crossed the stage to receive her diploma. She was in a wheelchair, and had been allowed to leave the hospital only long enough to attend the ceremony.