On this, the fourteenth anniversary of 9/11, our hearts and thoughts turn to memories of that tragic day when the citizens of this country were united in tragedy and grief. For this edition of ‘Weekend Reading’, we’re paying tribute to those who lost their lives on that awful September morning with selections from some of the nation’s best writers.

• The Fireman’s Friar, by Jennifer Senior, for New York Magazine.
  • “He was the first and most famous victim of the World Trade Center attack, but the death of Father Mychal Judge, the beloved New York Fire Department chaplain, was not as extraordinary as his colorful and iconoclastic life.”

• The Falling Man, by Tom Junod, for Esquire.
  • “He is, fifteen seconds past 9:41 A.M. EST, the moment the picture is taken, in the clutches of pure physics, accelerating at a rate of thirty-two feet per second squared. He will soon be traveling at upwards of 150 miles per hour, and he is upside down. In the picture, he is frozen; in his life outside the frame, he drops and keeps dropping until he disappears.”

• Tribute in Light Captures Grief and Joy of 9/11 Anniversary, David W. Dunlap, For New York Times
  • New York did not merely bounce back, it roared back, seemingly stronger than ever.

Enjoy your weekend and we’ll see you next week!