In Brief: The Deep End of Hope in the Wake of Hurricane Helene: 40 Days and Nights of Survival and Transformation

By Emma M. Churchman. Empower Press, 2025. 262 pages. $24.95/paperback; $7.99/eBook.

This book tells the story of the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene from the perspective of a survivor—who also happens to be a Quaker trauma healer—in a tiny town up a mountain in western North Carolina. We get an inside picture of what it’s like to wake up to catastrophe: finding oneself alive in a home that, miraculously, is intact but without roads, power, or cell phone service.

The first half, on rescue and recovery, is in journal form and is full of detail about daily life in the midst of destruction: the closed-in horizons, the struggle to connect with neighbors by foot, the mind-numbing obstacles in the way of the most ordinary tasks, the exhaustion and brain fog, the agonizingly slow process of meeting basic needs and rebuilding essential infrastructure, and all the loss. It’s easy to ignore such a disaster when we have the option or to be horrified from afar, but the author invites us in.

In the second half, on reconstruction and evolution, she continues sharing stories but begins to reflect more deeply: on the way catastrophe triggers compassion, as people are brought together in their grief, need, and vulnerability; the blessing of being knit together with neighbors of different political views; the importance of focusing on new life and new possibility in the midst of disaster; and the challenge and spiritual growth potential of gathering one’s inner resources to live mindfully in the midst of trauma.

She advises us to “Love being alive at this particular time, in this particular moment. Love who you are becoming.” Her conclusion: “[T]his is not about getting through. This is about becoming.” These are words of wisdom for all of us.

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Pamela Haines is a member of Central Philadelphia (Pa.) Meeting, who is passionate about the earth, relationships, integrity, and repair of all kinds