I meant to post about this several weeks ago, but life got in the way, then I just forgot. I’m old, ya know. Bifocals and all that. Anyway, my buddy Marcy Italiano has finally published her memoir Katrina and the Frenchman. Marcy and her husband, G, had just returned from their 10th wedding anniversary cruise and was spending a couple of days in New Orleans when hurricane Katrina hit. This is her story.

I had the honor of being one of the first to read this book. I read it in pieces as Marcy wrote it. It is raw, powerful, gut-wrenching stuff. You get to see the horrors of Mother Nature and human beings at their worst, but you also get to see people acting with compassion and love. It’s a read you won’t soon forget.

Here’s a press release Marcy sent to promote the book:

KATRINA AND THE FRENCHMAN: A JOURNAL FROM THE STREET is now available!

On August 27, 2005, a Carnival cruise ship docked at the harbor of New Orleans. Amongst the arrivals were Canadian writer Marcy Italiano and her husband, G, wrapping a wild 10-year anniversary celebration in a city they dearly loved. But this was less than 48 hours before the levees crumbled, and the nightmare began.

Katrina and The Frenchman is a haunting, harrowing first-person account of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, seen from the perspective of two tourists trapped in a city gripped by terror, and coming apart at the seams. Repeatedly finding light in the darkness, and then watching the darkness swallow it whole. Finally forced to escape on their own, when the system broke down completely.

Mostly, though, this is a story about beautiful people, and what they become as their hope runs out.

“I love this book. It’s a riveting story, intimately told with skill, deep humility, startling honesty, and the kind of stark photographic recall most people only achieve when they find themselves suddenly slapped within an inch of their lives by death. Which is, of course, precisely what happened; and that profound revelation is delivered intact throughout the course of this beautiful, powerful work.”
— John Skipp, bestselling author of Jake’s Wake and The Light At The End

Marcy Italiano is sharing their story so that donations from sales of Katrina And The Frenchman: A Journal From The Street can be made to Common Ground Relief, and to help the people of New Orleans.

Find out why the story was written, listen to the song and video, and buy the book for a good cause at: http://www.marcyitaliano.com

Thank you for your support.