August 29, 2005, the Gulf Coast was hammered by one of America's most catastrophic storms: hurricane Katrina! For one family, it began a two week lesson in survival and faith!
No one can forget August 29, 2005, when the Gulf Coast regions on Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana was rocked by one of this nation's deadliest, most catastrophic events: hurricane Katrina. For one Ninth Ward family, it began a lifelong lesson in survival and faith, and a long journey to return to their home in the storm ravaged city of New Orleans. We've seen the destruction on the news; read the stories written by journalists and politicians; saw the heartwrenching scenes at the Superdome and the Convention Center. THROUGH THE STORM is about a family who refused to evacuate and stood against a devastating storm and flood in their Ninth Ward home not for two or three days--- but for an incredible two weeks! This is a true story of survival and courage, and an inspiring testament to the human spirit in the face of overwhelming odds!
Excerpt
For I was hungry and you gave Me food,
I was thirsty and you gave Me drink,
I was a stranger and you took Me. . .
Verily, I say to you, inasmuch as you
Did it to one of the least of these
My brethren, you did it to Me.
Matthew 25:35-40
Professional Reviews
Through The Storm: A Fascinating Journey
THROUGH THE STORM opens with the father of this family, Robert P. Robertson, telling us his first experience with a hurricane (hurricane Audrey circa. 1957), and how his family, and particularly, the city of New Orleans, coped with past storms. However, this one was different, hurricane Katrina, and Robertson and his family soon realized how different. . . It turned out to be a rare, monster storm that caught everyone who had not evacuated by surprise. Yet, the biggest surprise was to come an hour after the fury of Katrina subsided. The massive storm surge following Katrina breached the levees of three Parishes, and caused a deadly flood that drowned over two thousand unsuspecting residents. But the real horrors befell New Orleans when, after three days of no response from emergency management or National Security agencies, the New Orleans Superdome and the Ernest M. Morial Convention Center became the settings for misery and death. . . The Robertson family chose to remain in their home, and as it is shown, it was the safest place to be. They resolve to survive. With no power, no form of communication, no technology except a battery-operated clock radio, they devised unique means to help themselves. This would be shortlived, though, because the mother of the family was seven months pregnant, and despite every effort to comfort her, the tremendous heat, humidity, and the stench from the stagnant water described in the story made her condition overbearing. They came to the conclusion that it would be best to evacuate in order to get medical attention for the mother of the family. During their evacuation, in Chapter Five: A Day's Journey Into Night, one of the armed soldiers who were posted to guard the family mentioned "They think they'll be gone for a couple of days, but they're in for a big surprise!" . . . Robertson wanted to know what "the big surprise!" could be, and in one of the most increbile, heartwrenching, oftentimes, hilarious chapters of this fascinating story, Robertson decides to go with his family to the heliport at the Convention Center that was set up for evacuations, saw them safely off, and went back home! Amazingly, he eased through three check-points, and a couple of times, ran the risk of being discovered, but found his way back home. There, he endured the loneliness and isolation, and saw the flood water dry up as he waited for the "big surprise!" to happen. Beside Robertson, there were a few other residents in their community, bur, eventually, their numbers dwindled to Robertson and an old man who was "Waitin' for my son to come and pick me up!" Once discvovered by the military, a tense confrontation developed between them and Robertson. Gradually, Robertson realized the danger and futility of holding-out in an unchanging environment, and decides to evacuate to reunite with his family. This was harder than he could imagine, and he found himself being flown to a shelter in Illinois. You would think the story would end here, but it's another beginning: the struggle to find his family, the travails of living in a shelter, and a near violent confrontation with guards. Though many evacuees at the shelter remained as residents in Illinois, Robertson returned home after a month to find the city just as he had left it. He had been one of the last tom leave, and was the first to return. Reunited with his family, the mother of the family gave birth to their son, and this may have closed the story. Instead, it is THE BEGINNING. . . Once you're brought into this story, I found it hard to just put it down. I found myself being a part of this family, their courage, what they saw and felt, and rejoiced in the miracles they survived in. Not a tear-jerker by any means, though I was deeply moved by Chapter Five when Robertson had to leave his family at the heliport. That was indescribable. Yet, the courage, the bravery of this story is very inspiring. It frequently brings up the question: What would I have done were I faced with what this family was faced with? How often do many of us face a cross-roads? With global warming happening on a world-wide scale, this is something we all must ask ourselves.
The Borderline Anti-Memory PastBook asks questions a diary does not ask and raises the questions to dialectics and answers them in a way a memory work does not answer questions.
325 letters my father wrote to my mother during his time in World War II.
Woven together in a timeline of events of three of his brothers, 5 brothers-in-law, and one cousin, all 10 of them were in WWII at the same time.
