The ubertalented author, who lives in the Appalachian region affected by Helene last week, posted this on Facebook. I am sharing here to amplify the info she provides at the end for two organizations she suggests donating to if you want to help.

My family and I are safe. That’s the main thing, because so many aren’t. Hurricane Helene hit our region harder than anything I’ve ever seen here.

Like a million others, our household had no electricity for the past week. No water, no signal, in a house barricaded by fallen trees. We camped at home, cooking over fire, boiling spring water, tending animals, walking fence lines, checking on neighbors. Reading books. In time we could venture out to find enough cell signal to let folks know we’re okay. Friends and family lent support as power slowly returned to other parts of the county. Rarely have I been so thankful for my resourceful upbringing and entertaining spouse.

And you should have heard us cheering the crews who eventually made their way up our hollow with chain saws, skid-steer, new utility poles, and overtime human effort drawn from far and wide. (We spoke with line crews from West Virginia, Illinois, and Steven’s home turf in Iowa!)

Drip coffee and showers feel miraculous after a week in the dark; reading the news is hard. Many people here will have no “normal” to get back to. The city of Asheville made national news, but most of those hardest hit live in smaller towns and communities throughout Appalachian Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia. If you’d like to help, I suggest the Appalachia Funders Network – appalachiafunders.org. Another fund that’s specifically helping our corner of Southwest Virginia is this one: https://unitedwayswva.charityproud.org/Donate/MiniCampaign/34132

Thank you.