The Submission

"The Submission is about how a nation memorializes tragedy. It’s a fascinating work of fiction, written in the wake of 9/11, about an architectural competition to choose a design for the 9/11 memorial. It’s based on what happened after a young Asian-American architect was chosen to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. It focuses on how communities come together after a crisis of national security, how anger can get misdirected and how both families who lost loved ones and a nation heals. This is one of my favorite books and not just because its author, Amy, has been a friend since the sixth grade. We are entering an interesting time when we all must learn how to live with this virus. It is hard to know when this virus will subside or if it will always remain a threat. Unlike other crises, where a hurricane hits and leaves a trail of destruction, COVID-19 may ebb and flow, but it looks like it will be around for a long time. Hot spots will crop up, making crisis management more like whack-a-mole. We call this stage ‘adaptive recovery.’"