National Network for Equitable Library Service

On September 2, 1998, a fire in the cockpit sent Swissair Flight 111 plunging into the sea off Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia. All 229 men, women and children on board perished, including Ivy Bannister’s sister, Patty. Set in Dublin, New York and the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Blunt Trauma is the true story of how one family’s life was ravaged by the terrible event. When Ivy Bannister switched on BBC radio from her home in Dublin the following morning, she had no idea that that the first thing she’d hear would change her life forever. An ocean away from the tragedy that claimed her sister’s life, Ivy soon left her family to be with her 80-year-old mother in New York City. What follows is a poignant day-by-day account of how she coped with the tragic death of her sister, and the painful practicalities of identifying remains and disposing of possessions. Blunt Trauma takes a powerful look at tragedy, grief and acceptance in an intimate, fast-paced, and sometimes startling story that shows the past as illuminated by the present and explores how catastrophe shatters imperfect familial relationships.