REVIEW: Replacement Child by Judy L. Mandel

Whether you open a newspaper or tune into your local news station, you are guaranteed to learn about a headline marked with tragedy and despair. We learn details about such incidents largely based on official statements and eyewitness testimonies. We don’t hear much about the victims, the survivors, or their families. Replacement Child is about a woman who was born from one such reported tragedy or as she says, “born of fire”.

On January 22, 1952, American Airlines flight 6780 crashed into an apartment building in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The Mandel family’s home was destroyed by this crash—their 7 year old daughter, Donna, perished and 2 year old daughter, Linda, suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns across 80% of her body.

Linda survived. The Mandels tried to piece together their lives, but the grief over the loss of their eldest daughter was too much. At a psychiatrist’s urging, the couple decided to have another child in hopes of repairing their marriage and reconnecting to their lives. Judy was born in the spring of 1954.

The premise of this book piqued my curiosity. The author, a journalist by profession, did a superb job describing the day of the crash. It was obvious from this detailed account that she had done a significant amount of research.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the memoir portion of the book. The disorganization and randomness of the topics discussed left me feeling like I was reading her journal rather than a polished memoir.

Overall, this is a very casual account of the author’s journey to discovering her place in her families’ tragedy. This book is best for families and friends of replacement children as well as professionals looking for a more intimate view on the topic.