Patricia Smith

Smith's writing really described to me how the people of New Orleans were affected by the hurricane. People abandoned their homes that some have lived in for generations and knowing the shear reality that what they know as their only home is going to be washed away. It reminds me of when a tornado ripped through my town when I was little. This disaster is way smaller than that of New Orleans but it was the largest disaster my town has seen. I am from the Chicago area where tornadoes are not common. After the storm died out, I remember looking around my house and seeing so many giant trees around my house were knocked over. Trees that I used to watch for birds, squirrels, and other wildlife scurry about, scaling up and down the tree, flying from tree to tree. At the time, my backyard was the my favorite place of my home and watching a tornado bring down the giant trees that stood there for decades was very devastating.