Andrea Carter Brown and her husband, Tom, lived one block from the World Trade Center on that fateful day, September 11, 2001. In part 1 of our conversation, she takes us through some of her experiences of that day and the days and months that followed. Andrea is a natural story teller who will draw you in with her words and stories, and you'll feel as if you're with her on her journey. Here's some of what we talked about:

• What her life was like pre 9/11
• Her journey from bookkeeper to poet
• The questions she asked herself that led her to writing
• The inspiration she found from 19th century pianist, Clara Schumann,  the decision to write Clara’s biography - and why she never finished it
• How a poetry reading shifted her life
• Her haunting recap of that fateful morning from her perspective just one block away
• How she learned about the terror attack on the World Trade Center
• What her intuition told her about the Tower - and what she did
• The initial aspect of her grief
• Her sole motivation for many decisions she made that day
• Where her husband would have been that morning, if he hadn’t had a meeting in another part of New York
• What life was like in NYC the first weeks and months after 9/11
• The health effects she experienced within two weeks of the attacks
• What going back to live in her apartment was like
• The memories - and what’s beneath the memories
• My experience of going to NYC in 2009 and being at Ground Zero
• The losses her small hometown in NJ (across the river) from Manhattan experienced on 9/11
• The memorial her hometown created - and what it’s made of
• Why she hasn’t returned to Ground Zero since leaving New York - and why she chose not to participate in the 10th anniversary commemoration
• What she believes is part of the mourning experience
• The beautiful way she describes what it was like to live in Battery Park before 9/11 - and why living there was the best of both worlds
• Why allowing is such an important part of the healing process
• How poetry helped her preserve her experience
• Why it took her so long to write her book, September 12
• What’s happened since the book came out that she didn’t anticipate
• What she's been asked by generations who weren’t alive on that day
• What it took her a long time to realize she was mourning
• How the loss of her neighborhood haunts her

Be sure to listen to the next episode for the conclusion of our interview.

Be sure to get a copy of her book, September 12.

You can find more about Andrea and a sample of her writings on her website.

Do you have your copy of my free guide, 4 Steps to Connect with Your Higher Self? If not, get yours here!