Lisa Karlin

The one thing in life that is constant is change. In this heartfelt account, Lisa Karlin shares her family’s escape from New Orleans and how they survived Hurricane Katrina. The family finds ways of coping with the lack of water, electricity, and gridlock. The story continues as they try to rebuild their lives and cope with the changes forced upon them. I am not certain if anyone can really recover from a situation like Katrina. What I found with this book was that this family stuck together, dealt with the changes, and came out stronger on the other side.
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I was listening to the morning news while finishing up my review of this book when I happened to overhear the newscaster mention it was the 10th anniversary since Hurricane Katrina made landfall.

I’m sure everyone remembers that day. Whether you were in the path of the storm or not, all eyes and ears were tuned to the storm.

I live on the Gulf Coast and have been through many hurricanes. We were hit by Ivan the year before Katrina. I ran from that storm and when they allowed us back in, I held my breath as I neared my home. I knew something was wrong when I could see our pool. Shouldn’t have been able to. Luckily it was because of the many downed trees. I lost nine, with the huge pecan tree taking out my porch and the neighbors barn. I had to cut a path though the branches to enter my house. I was lucky.

The people in Louisiana were not so lucky. The storm and it’s surge were bad enough. But when the levees broke, it was a disaster of epic proportions.

I was fascinated to read of this families ordeal, from the night of the storm up til now. Imagine running from the storm, finding a safe place to wait it out, and seeing the devastation after those levees broke. Not knowing if your house is even still there. Not being allowed back in. And seeing all of those people, trapped and helpless.

Not only did these people have to leave their home, they had to find somewhere else to live and find a school for their two young children. Even once they are allowed home and find their house still intact, they can’t stay there. There’s no running to the grocery store, because they are closed or gone. No schools for the same reason.

Relying on friends, family, and the kindness of strangers, they found adequate housing and food. Now, they just have to figure out what comes next.

I couldn’t begin to imagine what it was like. Sure, they didn’t lose their home, but they now had no jobs, not much money, and had to keep paying the bills, plus pay for two homes.

And the ripples of Hurricane Katrina are still being felt. I’ve seen footage of the progress that’s been made on rebuilding. But I know a few families that never went back. They lost everything.

I’ll be visiting New Orleans next month for the first time since Katrina. I’ve never been there before so I can’t see a before and after, but I’m sure I’ll see plenty of the after evidence even after 10 years.

I was riveted from beginning to end, and applaud Lisa Karlin and her family for sharing their story.… (plus d'informations)

If you have watched the news at all this weekend, I'm sure you have heard that it is the 10-Year Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. It's hard to believe it has been that long and yet, it is likely that the majority of our country has forgotten about Hurricane Katrina, but for residents of New Orleans, there are still reminders of the destruction and devastation the storm left behind. Karlin and her family survived, but still find remembering the horrific details of those days, weeks, months and years after Katrina to be extremely emotional. In BELOW THE WATER LINE, Karlin details with notes from her journal, the day to day struggles of living through Katrina and what she left behind. The book reads much like a novel and you have to remind yourself, these are real people in a very real situation.

Karlin's details about the days of evacuation and sitting in a rain-soaked motel room, not moving on a grid-locked highway, and traveling home to find destruction all around you. If you have ever been through a natural disaster, you will understand her feelings of despair and overwhelming anxiety about where to begin again. Her details of flooded homes after Katrina reminded me much of what fellow Cedar Rapids residents went through after the Flood of 2008. In fact, being in our old neighborhood this last weekend reminded me of much of the same feelings Karlin described about her neighborhood ten years after Katrina.

I found much of the government response to Katrina shocking and disappointing. I think most of us felt Katrina victims were being taken care of and sadly, that was not the truth in New Orleans. Karlin and her family were better off financially than most, yet still were completely swamped by the amount of money it took to pay for their Houston apartment during the evacuation period, their second home they purchased while trying to get through the repairs of their damaged home and pay for those repairs and the daily bills of a home owner. Her husband, a surgeon, took on another position to help at a hospital north of New Orleans that was inundated with new residents from Hurricane Katrina hit communities. Karlin, a nurse, was able to continue her job training oncology centers and was thankful they were still able to work and provide for their needs. Her humbleness regarding necessities vs wants was brutally honest and one that many of us, in this land of excess, can learn from.

I did find one part of the book upsetting where Karlin talks about a high school being used as a morgue and moves right on to her frustration with no power or radio without a pause. I'm sure it was more about details rather than emotion at that point. Other times her emotions show as she writes that while traveling between Houston and New Orleans, she felt like she was going between the United States and a developing country.

Amid all the loss and destruction faced by thousands in the Gulf Coast area after Hurricane Katrina, there is much hope. Recovery hasn't happened over night and there are still places that may never return to "Before Katrina" times. But while driving through an area, a lone sunflower emerges from the rubble and debris, Karlin realizes there is still hope for her beloved home.… (plus d'informations)

In Below The Water Line, author Lisa Karlin provides the reader with a personal first-hand account of her family's experience of living through the devastating effect of Hurricane Katrina in the fall of 2005.

The memoir is taken from the author's journal entries of her family's experiences before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina hit their home in New Orleans. The journal entries spans a decade since the devastating storm changed their way of life.

This is a heartfelt and thoughtful personal commentary of how the Karlin family's daily life was impacted by the devastation of the hurricane, their struggle to start over and move forward, and how the lingering effects of their traumatic experience still remain a decade after the hurricane.

I recall the entire media coverage of Hurricane Katrina, with its vivid photographs and videos of the massive destruction, and the trauma that was wrought upon the people of Louisiana, and even a decade later it still leaves me speechless and saddened that so many people were affected by this horrific act of nature. Author Lisa Karlin takes the reader along on her family's emotional journey, you can't help but get swept up in their story as they struggled to survive and move forward after the storm, it gave me goosebumps and simply stirred my soul. As a born and bred resident of a southern shore area of NJ, I can sympathize and relate to the author's experiences, as some of our shore towns felt the devastating effects from Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. There are simply no words that can be said that will ever take away the trauma of living through such a horrific event, there will always be a lingering painful memory, but the family's ability to overcome the challenges, deal with the changes, and be able to move forward is truly inspirational.

Below The Water Line is a wonderful testament to one family's strength and determination to overcome and move forward from the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Pump Up Your Book.

http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2015/08/below-water-line-by-lisa-karli...… (plus d'informations)