by Kelly Pickerill
As CNN correspondent Kathleen Koch covered the Katrina aftermath on the Gulf Coast, she made a promise to the hurricane victims in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The day she left, she told them, “I promise I won’t let anyone forget what happened here.”
Rising From Katrina is not just a story of destruction and disaster; it’s a tale of the kindness of strangers, of minor miracles—and, above all, of how communities rolled up their sleeves and rebuilt. It tells of the bravery and resilience of Gulf Coast residents, who—when no help came—helped each other restore their homes, their towns, and their lives.
Kathleen explores how the hurricane changed not just the landscape, but also the people. It is a story of loss, transformation, and resurrection that resonates in these tough economic times.
As Kathleen wrote Rising From Katrina, she kept a brick from her former Bay St. Louis house on her desk. It was her way of staying connected with home and the people she loved. One corner was broken off, and the brick was speckled with mortar, but it was still solid and strong, just like the communities that build up the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Rising From Katrina is their story, one that Kathleen calls the most important she’s ever covered.
(from the Press Release for Rising From Katrina by Kathleen Koch, John F. Blair, Publisher)
Kathleen Koch will be signing and reading at Lemuria Tuesday, August 10th, starting at 5 p.m.
The following is an excerpt from an article Kathleen wrote for CNN during the fourth of July weekend, about the oil spill and its effects on an already disaster-weary coast. Her new book, Rising From Katrina, is a tribute to the Gulf Coast victims of the hurricane.
I grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It was a place of pristine, natural beauty. Miles of soft, sandy beaches. The gentle, warm waters of the Mississippi Sound. The bays that cut inland to rivers and streams lined with grassy marshes and bayous that served as nurseries for tiny crabs, shrimp and all manner of fish and marine life.
The people of the Gulf Coast are a hardy bunch. They already faced the worst nature could dish out when Hurricane Katrina hit. And just as they were getting back on their feet after years of heartache and struggle, the worst man-made environmental disaster in U.S. history smacks them back down.
That is what makes this such a difficult time for my family, friends and neighbors on the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina left them with a new sense of vulnerability. Its scars are deep. And they are tired to the bone.
If you cannot attend the event but would like to reserve an autographed copy, call 601-366-7619 or click here.
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