Description
Book SynopsisThis eloquent, in-depth account of an extended African American family's grueling eight-year recovery from Katrina demonstrates how greater cultural understanding would enable disaster recovery organizations to better serve affected communities.
Trade Review"The book’s close ethnographic style gives us a textured view of the daily practices through which those most impacted by disasters make their lives meaningful and assist one another. . . . The book features an innovative use of graphic art that familiarizes readers with the experiences as well as the historical and environmental contexts of Katrina’s displaced." * Current Anthropology *
"This book answers the question of what people need in order to recover from disasters like Hurricane Katrina...(it) is distinguished by the comprehensive nature of its ethnographic methods, the eight-year time period of the in-depth research, and the recommendations for how people can support families who undergo devastating trauma from events like a hurricane." * Choice *
". . . her text reads like good journalism – sharp, clear, observant, insightful, and meaningful. Browne’s seasoned expertise as a cultural anthropologist and keen writing skills allow her to produce a book that offers much to disaster recovery professionals, policymakers, and academics outside her field about disaster recovery politics, the complexities and variability of African-Americans’ social lives and experiences, as well as the continuities of institutionalized racism in the United States." * Ethnic and Racial Studies *
"Drawing on the post-storm experience of the St. Bernard family, Browne suggests that recovery agencies could reduce suffering and speed healing by learning about the history, culture, and distinctive customs and needs of disaster-impacted communities. The provision of places to gather, places to cook big meals, and places to care for children could assist in repairing frayed cultural bonds and offer a roadmap for recovery." * Contemporary Sociology *
Table of Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Figures
- Introduction
- Part I. Shock Wave
- 1. When They Say Go
- 2. The Culture Broker
- 3. Not Just Any Red Beans
- Part II. Wave of Trouble
- 4. Ruin and Relief
- 5. Trial by Trailer
- 6. Bayou Speech and Bayou Style
- 7. Whose Road Home?
- 8. Almost to the Ground
- Part III. Wave of Reckoning
- 9. Settling
- 10. Call to Race
- 11. By and By
- Coda
- Appendix. Methodology
- Notes
- Bibliography
- About the Author and Series Editor
- Index
