Our lives are marked by spiritual milestones, regardless of our concept of God, religion and spirituality. Since August of 2005 many of my milestones have taken names like Katrina, Rita, Gustov, Humberto and Ike. Hurricanes have been deeply spiritual events and the recovery from them have shaped my personal ministry. I read and train in Crisis and Trauma counseling and Critical Incident response. I do this for my own personal healing as well as preparation for moments of ministry that will come my way. Email me for a book list if you want one but if you only read one, read The Unthinkable.
Most response and preparedness material focus on the disaster or protocols of response. They dot in a few stories for color but the end is the same-flexible answers to what happened. Amanda Ripley look at a wide variety of disasters from the perspective of the survivor. Answers to "Who Survives and Why?" is her quest. While there is no single solid answer the book's aim is to provide people who aren't in crisis at the moment a with a new way of survivor-thinking.
Ripley is a journalist from Time Magazine. Her perspective differs from the sociologists, theologians and psychologists that write much of this genre of books. She is clear, concise, interesting and writes with integrity-see her comments on not paying for interviews from chapter 8 and found on page 245. This is not the end all of disaster response and recovery but it gives a rich list of things to 'bulk up our brains' and build resiliency both as individuals and as a group.
The commentary on the relatively new science of evacuation is interesting and informs us on how to get out of a public place. Ripley challenges notions that limit our survivability while offering a healthier way to think about crises that haven't happened yet-and for that matter may never happen. For example, one of the key issues in the survivors of the 9-11 attack-especially the female survivors-was their shoes. Those in practical, though not fashionable shoes, were more resilient and hence more able to get out. As individuals were more resilient, the group became more able to survive.
Her thesis, found in the notes on page 225, offers a clear truth for students of crisis intervention and study. She writes, "Survivors offer our greatest hope for reconstructing disasters-not just the plot, but also the smells, the sounds, and the spontaneous acts of kindness. Their memories of the banal and the horrifying are portals into the unknown."
This was an excellent and valuable read. DON'T skip the introduction and the author's note. They are important.
Alan Van Hooser
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