Set against mudslides, fires and earthquakes in Los Angeles, Natural Disasters is about a friendship between a gay man and a lesbian who work in a Los Angeles AIDS organization called the Alliance. Set in 1993, the protagonist Jesse must navigate her way through burn out, a break-up of a relationship of ten years and her friend Gabe's HIV status and eventual death. There are seasons when life appears to be nothing by an unremitting series of calamities, when the worlds internal and external are crumbling, leaving no safe ground on which to stand. Julia Salazar's poignant and poetic novel, Natural Disasters, describes such a season in the life of its protagonist, Jesse Perez, suggests that the key is not only to withstand and survive it, but to heed the call of the universe to wake up and learn to live more deeply. Terry Wolverton, EMBERS Julia Salazar's brave and honest book reminds us that loss belongings smashed in earthquakes, friends stolen by AIDS can help us find the strength to change our lives. Anne Stockwell, Journalist