by Nick Courage
And it’s not just people who need help after a hurricane. Pets are easily separated from their families in the confusion of a storm, and animal shelters can become overcrowded with thousands of homeless dogs and cats in the days and weeks after a hurricane. To make room, these pets are relocated to adoption centers around the country, where they’re in real need of care, affection, and—when it’s impossible to reunite them with their original families—new homes. So if you’re an animal lover, the aftermath of a natural disaster is the perfect time to ask your parent or guardian about adopting a dog or a cat. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and the Humane Society are a good source for updates and information about displaced pets following any natural disaster.
While writing this book, I frequently visited the websites of the NOAA, the National Hurricane Center, and the National Weather Service. Readers interested in learning more about hurricanes and other natural disasters should check out the National Weather Service’s Young Meteorologist and Owlie Skywarn programs…and if you want to see what a hurricane actually looks like, there are about a thousand documentaries to choose from. (These can be hard to watch, but NOVA’s “Inside the Megastorm” and “Storm That Drowned a City” are good places to start.)
A word of caution: the more you learn about natural disasters, the more it can seem like there’s nothing we can do to stop them—but, to quote the (fictional) National Climatic Research Center, forewarned is forearmed. While hurricanes are naturally occurring, some of the smartest scientists and researchers in the world have found that global climate change (in the form of rising ocean temperatures) has increased the strength and intensity of recent storms. Luckily for us, climate change is preventable, and there are hundreds of ways each of us can fight it every day! It can be as simple as planting a tree and remembering to recycle or riding a bike instead of taking a car…but caring for our environment—and convincing the adults in our lives to care, too—is the best way to keep our planet healthy.
Turtles and all.
This book would not have been possible without the enthusiasm and endless encouragement of my best friend (and literary agent), Rachel Ekstrom Courage—and it’s an even better and bigger story than I ever imagined because of the editorial vision of Wendy Loggia and Audrey Ingerson at Delacorte Press.
I’m also forever thankful to all of the booksellers, librarians, authors, and friends who have supported me—especially to Lauren Tarshis, for her generosity in reading an early version of this novel (and for writing pulse-pounding books about survival and resilience with empathy and compassion!).
Very special thanks to Richard and Sandra Ekstrom, patrons of the arts and hosts of Pittsburgh’s premier literary incubator—and to my ornithologist sister, Dr. Donata Henry, for being an inspiration (to me and to the world in general); my mother, Adrienne Petrosini, for raising readers and fighting the good fight; and Ben and Ella, for being friends to the animals and giving me hope for the future.
As a New Orleanian, I’ve seen my fair share of hurricanes…and hurricane seasons are only getting longer and more unpredictable as our weather systems react to human-induced climate change. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the scientists, politicians, and activists who continue to advocate for common-sense policies that would protect our planet, as well as the individuals and organizations who jump in and help when natural disasters inevitably strike.
Nick Courage is a New Orleans–born writer and aspiring skateboarder who splits his time between Brooklyn and Pittsburgh, where he lives with his wife and two cats. His work has recently appeared in The Paris Review Daily and Writer’s Digest. Follow his adventures on Instagram and Twitter!
nickcourage.com
@nickcourage
@nickcourage
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