In the I of the Hurricane

After relocating to Florida, author Rebecca A. Keen lived in a condo on Charlotte Harbor in Punta Gorda, a small community north of Fort Myers. On September 28, 2022, as the eye of Hurricane Ian barreled toward the harbor, she waited in terror. Initially predicted to make landfall farther north, many had ignored the evacuation warnings, and all across southwest Florida, residents sheltered in place. Then, this unpredictable Category 5 hurricane unleashed a 500-year record storm surge, decimating entire towns. Nearly one year later, on August 26, 2023, Hurricane Idalia, a Category 4 storm, struck the Big Bend area of the state, causing chaos and destruction to its victims. In The I of the Hurricane, Keen visits the towns and beaches where each storm made landfall. Through weather bulletins, text messages, and personal accounts, she shares meaningful insights and inspires hope in the face of the unimaginable. This narrative includes her personal, firsthand experience in the storms as well as stories from some of the survivors. She tells how families and entire communities united through the complete devastation of both Hurricane Ian and Idalia.