Summary

The final section of the book is a series of reflections written after the original publication of Hope in the Dark in 2004. Solnit begins by cataloguing "The Extraordinary Achievements of Ordinary People," written in 2009. Solnit begins her reflection by discussing the September 11 attacks in greater detail than she had earlier in the book. She argues that "only we can terrorize ourselves" (116), and that while the events of September 11 were devastating and paralyzing, the stories of individual heroism by ordinary citizens and the feeling of communion that came from the healing process after the attacks were unprecedented and inspiring. She re-tells the story of people who escaped with their lives, arguing that the widespread panic often associated with those kinds of situations in movies is not the reality of the world, that in fact people are calm, organized, and willing to help one another...