Hurricane Audrey: The Deadly Storm of 1957

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 319 pages
• Published by: Pelican Publishing Company May 1, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1589804589
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1589804586
• Book Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Weighs: 1.3 pounds

Product Description
In all of recorded history, only one hurricane has taken a straight, direct, and unwavering head-on course before it struck the coastline of the United States. This Category 4 hurricane had something else for the record books, for in addition to a 13-foot storm surge topped by ten to 20-foot waves, Hurricane Audrey had a 40-60 foot tidal wave. Few people who saw Hurricane Audrey's tidal wave hit the beach lived to tell--but those that did, never forgot it.

The events surrounding 1957's Hurricane Audrey were so horrific that for over thirty years most of the survivors found it too painful to speak of their terrifying ordeal. Because of this, most of the world is unaware of Audrey's devastation. The people of Louisiana have never forgotten, however, and this Cajun author finally illuminates this little-known piece of American history for the world.

This book provides factual accounts and historical details surrounding one of the most devastating natural disasters in U.S. history, but it does so in a compelling narrative style that reads like a modern suspense novel instead of a documentary. Years of research and meticulous attention to detail during interviews with survivors bring each family's ordeal to light in surprising clarity. The book reveals rich untold details of the storm's history, but at a gale-force pace that makes unearthing history into something totally unexpected: a rare and dignified portrait of human survival.

In June 1957, Hurricane Audrey formed deep in the Gulf of Mexico in the Bay of Campeche, 460 miles south of Cameron Parish, Louisiana. It took direct aim at the small towns along this coast, moving due north for four days. The coastal communities of southwest Louisiana were poised to evacuate, but then something went horribly wrong, resulting in a massive death toll of over five hundred people--almost two hundred of them children--one of the worst natural disasters in Louisiana history.

This is an historical account, the memoirs of several families--the Griffith, Clark, Bartie, Marshall, Cagle, and Broussard clans--woven together in a seamless tale of courage. Each of the families struggled for survival in different settings. Some took refuge in their attics, others in trees or on rafts that were once floors, walls, or rooftops. Exposed to the elements, they soon realized that the hurricane was but one enemy; the creatures of the swamp were yet another. For the hundreds of storm victims who clung to anything that floated, and were swept twenty miles inland on the storm surge, many found even greater danger trying to survive in the marsh after the storm had passed.

Publisher Description
Reviews/Endorsements

From Senator W.L. Mount, (D) Louisiana -- "A fascinating account of one of the greatest tragedies on the Gulf Coast. This book is magnificent . .

I could not put it down. Cathy Post, a native but only a child at the time, brings Hurricane Audrey to life again . . . with tragedy, horror, love stories, heroism and the mysteries of nature! This book is compelling and the reader will find himself absorbed with every family and the challenges each faced. The author grabs the very fabric of every emotion as she takes you through the storm. After the State of Louisiana and her people faced two killer hurricanes (three weeks apart) in 2005, reading this book raised the level of appreciation for the people of the Gulf Coast . . . their love for each other, the land, their culture, their faith and their strength."

E.R. Jung, author of "Testimonial to a Habit" states -- "A compelling page turner . . . this book is riveting. Cathy Post knows her subject well -- this spell-binding account of Hurricane Audrey which overtook the Gulf Coast town of Cameron, Louisiana in 1957. Her chilling historical narrative sweeps us into its black waters along with the families struggling for survival, giving this reader some vivid memories of infested flotsome and debris which haunted me for days. For the victims stranded in the swamps, the aftermath of Hurricane Audrey is packed with suspense. This is the author's first book . . . I hope it will not be her last. I could not put the book down."

Reader Reviews
For two days I have lived this "forgotten" hurricane with the people I met and grew to love through the pages of this incredible book. I was captured from the first pages with the lyrical descriptions of the climate, culture and the people of Louisiana south of Interstate 10. "Acknowledgments" are usually in the front not at the end as in this book. I was so intrigued by the method of telling the story in "real time" that I jumped ahead to the "Acknowledgments". I had to find out how this story was researched and could be told in "first person" accounting. One learns much about this amazing first time author who was advised by her 100 year old aunt, a nun, with whom she shared letters, to "stop doing whatever it was that I was doing for a living and take up writing." You will be so glad she did! 2007 is the 50th anniversary of Hurricane Audrey. This book is an incredible read for any year, and I highly recommend it to all.