HARBOR was inspired by what I learned at a conference at Columbia University in 2019. The topic, managed retreat, centered on how to prepare and help people living in coastal areas to migrate to safer, less flood-prone locations.

At that time, while people around the world were escaping disruptive weather events that destroyed their homelands, families in Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana were struggling to hold onto the narrow peninsula where their families had lived for generations. Those forced out by destructive storms, subsidence, and sea-level rise became known as the first “climate refugees” of the United States. (Area residents do not welcome this label.) 

I visited Isle de Jean Charles during a research trip to Louisiana in April 2021. I stood in awe of the Isle’s beauty and the resilience evidenced by the care taken with the few remaining homes and gardens. The video above does not adequately capture what I saw.

In September 2021, I completed the first draft of HARBOR, then heard the news that Hurricane Ida obliterated Isle de Jean Charles. 

Now, as people seek refuge from the annual wildfires in California, the USA has a new group of “climate refugees.”

In Book 3 of the Love & Disaster Trilogy, you’ll meet characters dealing with the new normal in California and working to create a wildfire prevention tool.

I love talking about fiction and the facts that inspire it. If your book group wants to chat with me about my work, please reach out.