Gaby Doherty - Grenfell Hope

No one can forget the images of 14 June 2017, nor the sense of shock, incredulity, pain and helplessness at the scale of the tragedy at Grenfell Tower. This book is a fitting testament to a wonderfully diverse and powerfully resilient community caught up in and seeking to overcome the effects of that catastrophe. Gaby weaves her familys own story of loss into a wider narrative that describes the events from many perspectives and points to the ways in which ordinary people responded to promptings to do something with remarkable and life-changing effects. The pain and sorrow are palpable but Gaby also infuses the pages with warmth, humour, realism and, above all, hope.

This book does not gloss over the tragedy, the bitterness and the hard political questions that surround the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower. But by telling the stories of individuals, allowing them their voice, Gaby Doherty shows us that there is always hope. Hope challenges the past and the present, demanding change; hope energizes, enables and refuses to be silent. This is a powerful, challenging and hopeful book, but only if we are prepared to take our part, not to stand by as onlookers.

Ordinary people lost their lives and homes in the horrendous Grenfell Tower disaster. Ordinary people have also picked up the task of support and survival, working for a more hopeful future for others caught up in the system of unfairness and neglect. Gaby Doherty sees herself as an ordinary person, but, like many of those she writes about, has a vision for justice rooted in powerful faith and hope. The multiple personal narratives in this compassionate book are woven skilfully together to produce a challenging reminder of the significance of peoples lives and communities, and to make us resolved to work for a future which is more just and loving.

Dr Elaine Storkey, author of Scars Across Humanity:
Understanding and overcoming violence against women

Gaby Doherty writes movingly from first-hand experience of the Grenfell Tower fire and its aftermath. Without minimizing the horror of what happened, she tells stories of hope in the midst of tragedy.

If you want to hear the stories from Grenfell Tower, read this book and read it with your church. Psalm 95 talks about hearing the Lords voice and not hardening your heart. Gaby helps us to hear echoes of that voice from that night and the days that followed. She asks about our response. From that terrible night have emerged stories of faith, hope and love.

From her bedroom window, Gaby Doherty watched, horrified, as Grenfell Tower burned. Although stunned, she sprang into action in her community, sharing with others the grief, outrage and pain caused by the fire. Grenfell Hope contains not only her heartfelt account but gives voice to those often overlooked or misrepresented in the media. She shares stories of hope and transformation as ordinary people unite in extraordinary ways. And she reveals how neighbours bear each others burdens in Christ and how God reveals his presence in times of great pain. Dont miss this previously untold story.

Amy Boucher Pye, author of Finding Myself in Britain:
Our search for faith, home and true identity

How do we offer hope when disaster comes to our door? In this timely book, Doherty offers a rare perspective: the eyewitness accounts of the political leaders and religious communities, and how they helped on the ground. This is not a book full of grief tourism, but an exploration of the good and bad ordinary people can do. The book identifies unexpected heroes who love justice, look at suffering square on and dont offer glib answers, but look for practical good and supernatural hope. As someone active in the hub of support after the Grenfell fire, Doherty not only writes hope, she lives it. She is the perfect person to present this treasury of shards of hope within the wreckage, and she does so with grace and humility. Read it for lament, not hand-wringing; intelligent critique, not outrage; a vision of justice, not despair and above all, read it to be inspired by ordinary people, and reflect on what it means to be a hope-bearer in this world.

Tanya Marlow, campaigner for health equality and author of Those Who Wait: Finding God in disappointment, doubt and delay

Gaby and I both believe in the efficacy of hope. We both believe that the lives that were lost will not have been in vain.

Gaby Doherty is a wife to Sean and mum to four children. She is passionate about faith, friends and justice, and speaking and writing about them. She hopes to leave the world a better place because she has lived. This is her first book.

First published in Great Britain in 2018

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge

36 Causton Street

London SW1P 4ST

www.spck.org.uk

Copyright Gaby Doherty 2018

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

SPCK does not necessarily endorse the individual views contained in its publications.

The author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the external website and email addresses included in this book are correct and up to date at the time of going to press. The author and publisher are not responsible for the content, quality or continuing accessibility of the sites.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicized. Copyright 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. NIV is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The extract marked CW is from Common Worship, copyright The Archbishops Council, 2000, and is reproduced by permission.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 9780281079629

eBook ISBN 9780281079636

Typeset by Geethik, India

First printed in Great Britain by Jellyfish Print Solutions

Subsequently digitally reprinted in Great Britain

eBook by Geethik, India

Produced on paper from sustainable forests

In writing a book called Grenfell Hope there have been a number of issues.

First, hope is hard to find in times like this. We need hope, though, to retain our sanity and to encourage healing and forgiveness. Many people have told me that there is no hope; they are right that the fire was hopeless and nothing good can be found to say about death and suffering. However, I choose to believe that there can be hope in the wake of horror and tragedy.