Shelter Me - Paperback

by Daren Dean (Author)

A novel of the epic "no name" flood in August 2016 in central and southern Louisiana-a rare, 500-year historic event. The storm dumped 20-30 inches of rain in a mere three days across several parishes in the central and southern parts of the state, wreaking loss and devastation in its wake. The narrative centers on the lives of neighbors who reside on Eden Church Road in the fictional town of Satsuma Grove in Livingston Parish. This is a story of the resilient spirit of the people of the Pelican State and how neighbors pull together to survive in the grips of a natural disaster that destroyed homes and property, tore many families apart while simultaneously binding others together.

Before this devastating flood event even begins, Angelina, a cancer patient, hit in the prime of her life, watches from her bedroom window as her neighbor, Heaven, murders her husband; Presley, an impish junior high school student, is the first on her street to notice the "Cajun navy" is beginning to rally the troops in the nearby elementary school parking lot; Mr. Jule, and his wife, Esperanza, are retirees that act as the patriarch and matriarch to their neighbors on Eden Church Road; a long haul trucker, Dixon, volunteers his fishing boat "The Blue Betty II" and his time and energy along with a young, teenage musician, Noah, recently returned from performing on the streets of the French Quarter, to help rescue people from rooftops and drowned vehicles; Jourdan and Genie, a Cajun father and daughter on their way home to Lafayette, are trapped in Satsuma Grove due to the flood waters and decide to help Dixon and Noah until they are confronted by the meth-fueled faces of greed and opportunism.

The Child of the Mississippi is herself an important character in this complex tale that hints at problematic environmental concerns across the region. The voices of the wetlands crying for a solution to increasing devastation as ever more powerful storms buffet the coastline. Ultimately, it's a story of the triumph of the diverse people throughout the Bayou State in the face of a grievous natural disaster.