2019 Minnesota Book Award Finalist in Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
"A bridge shouldn't just fall down," Senator Amy Klobuchar said
after the August 1, 2007, collapse of the Minneapolis I-35W
eight-lane steel truss bridge, which killed 13 motorists, injured
145, and left a collective wound on the city's psyche and
infrastructure. On her way to a soccer game with a fellow teammate,
Kimberly J. Brown experienced the collapse firsthand, falling 114
feet in her teammate's car to the Mississippi River. Although
terrified, injured, and in shock, she survived. In this sobering
memoir and exposé, Brown recounts her harrowing experience. In the
aftermath of the disaster, Brown became both an advocate for
survivors and an unofficial whistle-blower about decaying
infrastructure. She details her investigation and
correspondence with Thornton Tomasetti engineers, including the
false official account of the collapse and the eventual revelation
of its real causes. In addition, she chronicles the ongoing decay
of America's bridges and the continuing challenges faced by leaders
to address infrastructure problems across the country. After nearly
a decade of research into the collapse and her active and ongoing
recovery from psychic and physical injuries, Brown shares her
experience and answers the questions we should all be asking: Why
did this bridge collapse? And what could have been done to prevent
this tragedy?