9/11 broke us. And we are far from healed.

On Sept. 11, 2001, I was in my office in Columbia, S.C., as I watched the video of the plane hitting the first tower. I knew what it meant and I said it out loud: “Oh, my God, we’re at war.” Something inside me sank to the bottom of my core, and I had a feeling of overwhelming sadness and weariness. It was as though I was seeing all the wars through human history coalesce into a single image.