Former Ground Zero priest turns 9/11 relief experience into memoir and speaking tour

Lyndon Harris, the Episcopal priest who led relief work at Saint Paul’s Chapel after 9/11, is releasing a memoir that pairs eyewitness reporting from Ground Zero with his own story of trauma, failure and healing. The book and Harris’s new speaking work aim to frame forgiveness as a practical response to grief, division and recovery.

Why it matters: - Lyndon Harris is using his post-9/11 experience to argue that forgiveness can be part of recovery without erasing harm or justice. - The memoir arrives as communities, workplaces, families and faith groups continue to deal with grief, conflict, trauma and division. - Harris is positioning the book as both a personal testimony and a practical resource for resilience, moral repair and post-traumatic growth.

What happened: - Harris, the former Episcopal priest who started and led relief efforts at Saint Paul’s Chapel across from Ground Zero, is promoting a new memoir, Forgiveness at Ground Zero: A Journey of Service, Loss and Redemption after 9/11 (Bloomsbury Academic, 2026). - The book recounts the months after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, when Saint Paul’s Chapel became a 24/7 refuge for recovery workers, first responders, volunteers and grieving New Yorkers. - Harris is now speaking publicly as a speaker, retreat leader and forgiveness coach.

The details: - The relief operation at Saint Paul’s Chapel ran for eight and a half months after the attacks. - The effort mobilized thousands of volunteers. - The chapel provided meals, rest, practical care, music, prayer and companionship to people working at and around Ground Zero. - Harris’s memoir also focuses on the private aftermath: trauma, loss, regret, personal failure and the path toward healing after the cameras left. - Harris says, “Forgiveness does not deny the wound or abandon the demand for justice. It is rather the courageous work of refusing to let pain have the final word in our lives.” - Harris has trained in evidence-based forgiveness practices developed through the research of Fred Luskin, director of the Stanford Forgiveness Project. - Harris co-authored The Forgive for Good Recovery Workbook (New Harbinger, 2025) with Luskin. - Harris’s speaking topics include forgiveness after trauma and tragedy, post-traumatic growth and resilience, self-forgiveness and recovery from shame, healing divisions in families and communities, lessons from Ground Zero for a divided world, and moving beyond resentment without surrendering justice. - Harris is available for keynote presentations, conferences, retreats, universities and seminaries, faith communities, podcast interviews, radio and television appearances, book clubs and author events. - Harris provided booking and contact information through his website, email and publicity contact at Bloomsbury Publishing US. - Harris shared social media links on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

Between the lines: - Harris is reframing the Ground Zero relief story as more than a disaster-response chapter. - The memoir and speaking pitch connect public service, spiritual caregiving and personal reckoning. - The emphasis on forgiveness reflects a broader message: healing can include accountability, but it also requires a way to move forward.

What’s next: - Harris is available now for events and media appearances tied to the memoir. - The release of the book gives Harris a national platform to expand his message on forgiveness and recovery. - His public schedule is likely to continue around keynote talks, retreats and book-related engagements.

The bottom line: - Harris is turning one of the most visible acts of post-9/11 service into a broader case for forgiveness as a lived practice, not a slogan.