"Top ten list of memoirs" "Gorgeous and surprising" "A phenomenal story " "Story of a woman transformed and triumphant" "It will inspire and motivate anyone who reads it" One week - no house, no spouse. Abandoned by her husband, Julie is left alone on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to raise her infant daughter in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. Surrounded by the rubble of her life, she's stripped by love and loss. What happens when one woman loses everything? Freed's debut memoir offers intimate details of parallel tragedies. A romantic marriage and sudden divorce are framed by one of America's most defining natural disasters. Strong prose and literary motif capture the resilience of a Southern community, a father's unwavering support, and the love and adoration Julie has for one year old Genoa. An extraordinary true story told with humor and tenderness.