Bonnie McEneaney, MPS '78, whose husband, Eamon McEneaney '77, died Sept. 11, 2001, in the attack on the World Trade Center, shared her paranormal experiences and those of others who lost friends and family that day, in a reading from her book, "Messages: Signs, Visits, and Premonitions From Loved Ones Lost on 9/11," Sept. 16 in Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium.

Her husband was a member of the two-time NCAA Championship-winning Big Red lacrosse team, a father of four, a poet "and a prankster," his widow said. They met at The Nines in Collegetown when she commented on his outfit, a towel, after he had participated in a streaking rally on campus.

"He loved Cornell. Not as much as he loved Ireland, but he did love Cornell," she said.

Eamon worked in an investment firm on the 105th floor of the North Tower, and had helped 66 people to safety in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. In the weeks before the 2001 attack, he had spoken more than once of something about to happen to him, Bonnie McEneaney said.

These portents of foreboding on her husband's part, and hearing of many other instances of spiritual, paranormal and other signs among surviving friends and family members of 9/11 victims, prompted her to write the book, she said.

"Love is the central, common denominator of these stories, and it's what connects us," she said, adding that the project took five years, in which she conducted more than 200 interviews. She also edited a posthumous volume of Eamon's poetry, "A Bend in the Road."

"This book ['Messages'] is, in truth, a paean to love and connection, and the great commitment that love begets us," said Ken McClane, professor of English, in his introduction of Bonnie McEneaney.

The event was sponsored by the Department of English and the Creative Writing Program Fall Reading Series. Upcoming fiction writers and poets in the series include Lydia Davis, Sept. 30; Carl Phillips, Oct. 14; and John Murillo, Nov. 4. Information: http://www.arts.cornell.edu/english/creative/.