Father Mike: A Life Book

"His death certificate bears the number one. On September 11, Father Mychal Judge rushed to volunteer at the emergency command post in the World Trade Center, where he lost his life while bravely and tirelessly ministering to New York's bravest. The Reuters photograph of his body being carried out of the rubble on that day was described as the 'American Pieta,' and five years later a documentary film dubbed him the "Saint of 9/11."" "Michael Daly delivers much more than simply a story of a fallen hero and inspirational leader. His biography is an intimate and complex portrait of a man who struggled with battles both personal and political. He became sober with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous, and he used his own story to help counsel others in their struggles with addiction. And serving within the Catholic Church - as well as the ultra-masculine ranks of the FDNY - the father also kept secret his sexual orientation: He admitted having feelings of attraction for both men and women, and although Judge stayed true to his vows, Daly sheds light on one deeply meaningful relationship that the father maintained with a male friend for many years." Daly writes in the best tradition of the streetwise New York City scribe, and in his loving yet probing biography of Judge, he does not shy away from the controversies of Judge's life - including Judge's often seething feud with Cardinal John O'Connor. The author takes us inside the father's friary and church, into the fire stations and the hospital rooms of burn victims, and into the very heart of the city itself. The Book of Mychal delves with unparalleled insight into the inspirational story of an American hero who will long be rememberedby the many people whose lives he blessed.