Forever Changed

Devastating is the word for this collection of 79 articles by survivors and relatives of survivors or victims of the bomb blast that killed 168 people in the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City three years ago. Assembled by victims' rights advocate Kight, director of Families and Survivors United, who lost a daughter in the explosion, the effect is hinted at in the anguished cry of a survivor: ""How can anyone ever understand what we are going through?"" And indeed we cannot, but we at least get an idea of the horror not only of the moment, but of the hours, days and weeks that followed, with the protracted search for bodies through the rubble; the innumerable surgeries; the ordeal of attending four funerals a day of co-workers and friends; and, finally, the psychological aftermath for families who still have death ""haunting their minds and tormenting them in the night."" The only bright spots are the kindnesses of friends, neighbors and even strangers, along with the deep religious faith that sustained many of the affected. The volume succeeds heartbreakingly well in putting a human face on the many victims of this tragedy. Photos. (Sept.)