Surviving Helene: Chronicles of Courage and Recovery by Jamie Fuentes

 

    A dear friend of mine wrote this book and anything written about hurricane Helene and Western North Carolina is significant to me. Her writing only provides a small glimpse of what people in my area had to face. Thankfully, my home and residence was up in the mountains. A little over an hour away was total devastation.

    Her book is a small collection of short stories and vignette of what happened to people in our area. I highly suggest if you do decide to read her book that you do so with a box of tissues beside you. If you are a mama be prepared to be absolutely heartbroken. These are true stories and this did happen to people. After reading about Millie, I had to put the book down and weep inside my classroom until the bell rang for lunch. I could not imagine being trapped in a car while flood waters were rising with my child.  What must've been going through that mother's mind is unintelligible. My heart goes out to her family. 

    This book will make you appreciate what you have now more than anything. So what we had minimal damage out my way the real story is what people had to face in the Asheville/ Batcave areas. I know there is a lot more to tell and this is just a snippet of the collection of stories that she has. I hope you take time to at least read the book. The first chapter is more or less overview and is written in textbook style. Do not let that first chapter put you off from reading the entire book. The individual stories of families is what is important to the audience.  

    I would rate her book a five out of five stars. This rating is due to my closeness and proximity to the event and how the stories were laid out. I can still remember gathering food for days to put on trucks to be shipped to help people. I wish more people out and about really knew what WNC truly faced when Helene hit.