Anyone who witnessed and survived — and who may still be paying the price — of last August’s Tropical Storm Irene Flood in Vermont is likely to be interested in a new book that tells the stories of how we all made it through!
Author, teacher and Rutland Herald reporter Yvonne Daley’s new book “A Mighty Storm: Stories of Resilience After Irene” tells the stories of the Vermont Flood of 2011. The book hits the streets this Friday, December 16th!
While some may wish to forget what all they went through, we suspect this will be a wonderful living testament to the great energy and fortitude that Vermonters called upon in a time of crisis. Road closures, lack of water, electrical outages, homes swept away and destroyed and people caught isolated from help. Those were the first days and even weeks after the flooding. Then there is the financial part which many are still sorting through.
Everyone, it seems, has something in particular they remember. For Woodstock Early Bird, it was probably seeing the gushing river flowing OUT of the Woodstock Inn and the alarm at seeing Hartford’s Swiftwater Rescue Team on their way to Riverside Park to literally pluck people from the water. Or perhaps it was the simpler and strange sound of propane tanks off-gassing, hissing as they clonked into bridge abuttments. Other-worldy? You betcha’.
Read more in Daley’s book: “A Mighty Storm: Stories of Resilience After Irene” is available from Northshire Books and will soon be available in many local book stores. Daley, who visited Woodstock and interviewed many here for her book, hopes to do a book-signing event here soon. We’ll keep you posted.
Here is the link to the Northshire Bookstore (in Manchester, Vermont) to read more and/or to get your order in (It might make a very nice and relevant holiday gift!):
http://www.northshire.com/siteinfo/bookinfo/9781605711294/0/
Daley, who has actually been working on her own writing projects and teaching writing both at the Green Mountain Writers Conferences and at San Francisco State University, was asked to come out of newspaper “retirement” last August to help the Rutland Herald cover Irene’s devastation. We’re glad she did!
(Very notable: We see that proceeds from sales of this book will be donated to three individual charities including the Vermont Flood Relief Fund one that supports Mobile Home Owners. Nice! )
Julia Carlisle
Woodstock Early Bird 