Praise for Katrina’s Grace

“From the first words I was captivated… I was reading this book with the eyes of a person who has responded to many disasters including hurricane Katrina. With this awareness came the realization that the author has given a great gift to those who wonder how a person journeys through a disaster. A disaster responder is left to wonder what life was like before the storm and left to ponder the fate of those putting the pieces back together. Katrina’s Grace is a gift of Grace to anyone who has longed to know the whole story. [The book] taught this reader that people develop resilience throughout life’s journey and that even in the face of great loss that resilience will emerge as new leaves on a battered tree. The responder’s job is to help that resilience find the warmth of the sun. Perhaps the most meaningful moment of Grace was the opportunity to walk with the author through the pain, tears and loss to the growth, renewal and newness that occurs when one is willing to walk through the wilderness with faith as a companion. …a must read for anyone wishing to respond to a disaster. As I continue to respond to people and communities impacted by a disaster I will take Katrina’s Grace with me as a constant reminder that when one discovers God’s Amazing Grace all things are possible.”

“…a memoir, personal and interwoven with an event that has truly entered the annals of American history, the likes of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and the great Mississippi River flood of 1927. This book moves to a deeper level of grappling with catastrophic events’ truly disorienting effect, not only in one’s personal psyche but also the national psyche at the deepest psychological, spiritual level, and takes the sensitive reader on an adventure into the realm of the soul/psyche where persons of reflective spirit can experience deep meaning, facilitate life-altering growth, gain deep insight, and develop a better understanding of finding meaning in the tragedies of life. A beautifully woven personal tale of the healing power of grace experienced, as well as a tale meaningfully imaging the capacity of what theology has traditionally called Grace’s power to transcend differences, heal wounds and create a better world.”

“As I read… I found I could not put it down… I carried her story with me day and night… I would weep as my heart broke, and I would soar as I experienced God’s Grace through her words. The story of the vicissitudes of Sandra’s journey with family, FEMA, friends, inspectors, insurance and volunteers is filled with meaning and love. As the top executive for U.S. Disaster Response in the United Methodist Church, I spent a great amount of time along the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina. I observed miles upon miles of roads and streets that were just blown to pieces. Very quickly those roads and streets became deep valleys, which were lined by mountains of debris. For the normal eye to observe, the whole coast of Mississippi looked exactly the same. Yet behind every mountain of stuff was a unique story of lives that had been forever changed by wind and water.”

“…the pathway toward wholeness involves connecting those severed strands of a survivor’s story, helping them in the context of a supportive relationship to learn to tell that story in a full and connected way that supports healing and lessens the pain of trauma. We see that work demonstrated as Sandra Price with painstaking detail lovingly weaves the narratives of her Southern childhood, her experience of the trauma of Hurricane Katrina’s damage to her beloved home and com- munity, with the healing graces of her faith and friendships into an intimate portrait of a life disrupted, remembered, and renewed. It is shaped by her theological sensibility, framed by her respect for the communion of the saints, and richly revelatory of her experience and personality as it is refined by the fires of disaster.”

“An engaging memoir written in the authentic voice of a thoughtful, deeply spiritual Mississippi woman. As a disaster volunteer who spent weeks in the Gulf during the first years of the Katrina recovery, I saw some of what Sandra describes in the landscape of Biloxi and Gulfport. Yet the continuing barrage of losses was shocking to me. As a clinical psychotherapist who confronts traumatic grief in the lives of individuals regularly, I could hear the truth of Sandra’s disbelief, fury, and deep sadness for important connections broken and beloved memories ruined. The powerful message of hope in this book is born in the writer’s capacity to live in her fearful emptiness and to receive and absorb the goodness that blew her way.”