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Come into the Water: A Survivor's Story
Rapid City, South Dakota, June 9, 1972....238 people died, 5 are still missing.
In the midst of one of the worst floods in the history of the United States, one young woman clung to the roof of a house, desperately holding on to the vestiges of her life. At the same time, the massive flood surging down from the Black Hills and through the city swept away everything and everybody she loved.
Somehow, Merlyn Magner survived that horrific night, but she lost her brother, mother and father to the rampaging water. Questions coursed through her mind then and for much of the rest of her life: Why did this happen? Why did my family die? Why did I survive? What does it all mean? Rescued from that rooftop, Merlyn set out to find the answers to these questions. She searched for comprehension, for a sense of place, for meaning....
Her search took her from the Black Hills on a journey around the United States and then the world, traversing the globe to escape the memories and the pain. From within this fractured fairy tale, she began a poignant, spiritual journey that would help her make sense of one horrendous night.
In the midst of one of the worst floods in the history of the United States, one young woman clung to the roof of a house, desperately holding on to the vestiges of her life. At the same time, the massive flood surging down from the Black Hills and through the city swept away everything and everybody she loved.
Somehow, Merlyn Magner survived that horrific night, but she lost her brother, mother and father to the rampaging water. Questions coursed through her mind then and for much of the rest of her life: Why did this happen? Why did my family die? Why did I survive? What does it all mean? Rescued from that rooftop, Merlyn set out to find the answers to these questions. She searched for comprehension, for a sense of place, for meaning....
Her search took her from the Black Hills on a journey around the United States and then the world, traversing the globe to escape the memories and the pain. From within this fractured fairy tale, she began a poignant, spiritual journey that would help her make sense of one horrendous night.
- GenresNonfictionMemoir
170 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 25, 2012
I got this book for free from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
This wasn't what I was expecting. I thought most of it would be about the flood itself, Merlyn's family's deaths, her own struggle to survive in the raging currents. But most of the story was in fact about the aftermath -- even the long-term aftermath, decades after the flood -- and Merlyn's attempts to cope with what happened.
I was appalled to read about how many people took advantage of her tragedy and the town's tragedy. They looted the damaged houses and even raised money, supposedly for the flood victims, which they kept for themselves. It was not only strangers that did this, but people whom Merlyn had known and trusted. After she recovered her mother's diamond ring from the mud, one of her so-called friends tried to steal it -- right in front of her and several other people. I didn't see anything about any genuine charitable efforts, and I don't know whether there weren't any or whether Merlyn just didn't write about them.
This story was often beautifully written, but I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I could have. Merlyn is often frustratingly vague about her life -- I suppose that might be the inevitable result of covering the nearly forty years since the flood in under 200 pages -- and it felt like I was watching through a fog. But it may be just a personal preference on my part. I would recommend this especially for those having to deal with disasters and grief.
This wasn't what I was expecting. I thought most of it would be about the flood itself, Merlyn's family's deaths, her own struggle to survive in the raging currents. But most of the story was in fact about the aftermath -- even the long-term aftermath, decades after the flood -- and Merlyn's attempts to cope with what happened.
I was appalled to read about how many people took advantage of her tragedy and the town's tragedy. They looted the damaged houses and even raised money, supposedly for the flood victims, which they kept for themselves. It was not only strangers that did this, but people whom Merlyn had known and trusted. After she recovered her mother's diamond ring from the mud, one of her so-called friends tried to steal it -- right in front of her and several other people. I didn't see anything about any genuine charitable efforts, and I don't know whether there weren't any or whether Merlyn just didn't write about them.
This story was often beautifully written, but I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I could have. Merlyn is often frustratingly vague about her life -- I suppose that might be the inevitable result of covering the nearly forty years since the flood in under 200 pages -- and it felt like I was watching through a fog. But it may be just a personal preference on my part. I would recommend this especially for those having to deal with disasters and grief.
December 19, 2011
Awesome book detailing Magner's battle with PTSD and Survivor's Guilt. If you're looking for a scientific book about flooding, or a book that objectively recounts the flood in sort of a clinical way as if detailing the explosion of say Mount St. Helen's, then this isn't your book.
If you're wondering what it would "feel" like to have your family swept away in a disasterous flood, what you would do, or what the psychological trauma might be like--then this is your book.
I would also say it's a good book for anyone who's ever lost someone they loved in a tragic accident, because it's a book about learning how to heal again.
I cried several times reading this, and because I now live in Rapid City, SD, where this disasterous flood occurred in 1973, I really became entralled with the town's history. I even tried to find remains of the flood, but you really, really have to look, a foundation here, a driveway that leads to nowhere there. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the location of Magner's house. Pity, because if I had, I would have laid some flowers on the hearth, which is allegedly all that remains.
The book affects you that much. Or at least it did me. Magner strikes you as a person with a poet's tenderness and heart, and you can see it in her big, soulful eyes.
Wonderful book. Even if you never come to Rapid City or see Canyon Lake, which was, I'm gathering, the "ground zero" where the dam had broken, it's still a wonderful read and piece of history.
If you're wondering what it would "feel" like to have your family swept away in a disasterous flood, what you would do, or what the psychological trauma might be like--then this is your book.
I would also say it's a good book for anyone who's ever lost someone they loved in a tragic accident, because it's a book about learning how to heal again.
I cried several times reading this, and because I now live in Rapid City, SD, where this disasterous flood occurred in 1973, I really became entralled with the town's history. I even tried to find remains of the flood, but you really, really have to look, a foundation here, a driveway that leads to nowhere there. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the location of Magner's house. Pity, because if I had, I would have laid some flowers on the hearth, which is allegedly all that remains.
The book affects you that much. Or at least it did me. Magner strikes you as a person with a poet's tenderness and heart, and you can see it in her big, soulful eyes.
Wonderful book. Even if you never come to Rapid City or see Canyon Lake, which was, I'm gathering, the "ground zero" where the dam had broken, it's still a wonderful read and piece of history.
August 21, 2013
One of the best books I've read this year.
June 10, 2012
An excellent account of the 1972 Rapid City flood. I couldn't put it down.
May 25, 2023
I was an early reviewer of this book via Library Thing. I received the book for free and wrote this review in response.
This book was really great. As the survivor of the Grand Rapids flood, this author shows a unique experience to a world of people who can only begin to imagine her shock, horror, and her challenge to live in the world following this event. A brilliant story of PTSD and also the reality of how people take advantage of those who have been through a tragedy.
This book was really great. As the survivor of the Grand Rapids flood, this author shows a unique experience to a world of people who can only begin to imagine her shock, horror, and her challenge to live in the world following this event. A brilliant story of PTSD and also the reality of how people take advantage of those who have been through a tragedy.
December 28, 2022
I was in the 1972 flood in Rapid City, South Dakota so I enjoyed this story.
August 31, 2016
From the author's standpoint, I can see why she wrote this book. There is a feeling of catharsis on every page as Magner divulges her life to the reader. I can see this book being of personal interest to both Magner and her friends, but I don't feel Magner is a strong enough writer to have this book engage with the wider public. I know I wasn't engaged for the most part. I could see that she lived through a horrific event, but I had no real sense of empathy for her, simply because the writing is so flat.
The writing is the weak point of this book. The text is littered with cliches and a variety of slang, like `Gawd' and `Yeah' disrupting what little narrative flow this book contains. There are so many characters who are introduced and then forgotten about, then thrown back in that even with its short length (under two hundred pages), it almost felt as if an index was necessary. There is no real focus to this book, just a detailing of Magner's ancestry in the section of the book before the flood, followed by a presentation of her life after the flood. The flood itself is only approximately a chapter in length.
I definitely think it was important for Magner to tell her story, to help clarify her thoughts and feelings surrounding the flood which killed her family. But I think this is a personal book for Magner and fails to in being a public piece of work.
The writing is the weak point of this book. The text is littered with cliches and a variety of slang, like `Gawd' and `Yeah' disrupting what little narrative flow this book contains. There are so many characters who are introduced and then forgotten about, then thrown back in that even with its short length (under two hundred pages), it almost felt as if an index was necessary. There is no real focus to this book, just a detailing of Magner's ancestry in the section of the book before the flood, followed by a presentation of her life after the flood. The flood itself is only approximately a chapter in length.
I definitely think it was important for Magner to tell her story, to help clarify her thoughts and feelings surrounding the flood which killed her family. But I think this is a personal book for Magner and fails to in being a public piece of work.
May 31, 2012
After visiting an exhibit at The Journey Museum in Rapid City, I set out to find a book with historical information about the 1972 flood that devastated the town of Rapid City, South Dakota; there is surprisingly little available on the topic.
This book was the last thing I expected to find; yet of great interest to me. How many others, I wondered, experienced similar trauma, and where are they now? While there was immediate assistance for flood victims, i.e. food, housing, financial assistance, how can emotional needs be addressed?
While I was very engaged by Magner's story, many passages in the book are vague, and it was difficult to understand the timeline of events as her life unfolded after the flood. Her memories tumbled out onto the pages, and this is how the book was published.
The book concludes with an afterword provided by Donald Barnett, who was the mayor of Rapid City in June 1972. His recollection of the disaster is fascinating, and provides a brief historical overview that is a fitting complement to Magner's story.
This book was the last thing I expected to find; yet of great interest to me. How many others, I wondered, experienced similar trauma, and where are they now? While there was immediate assistance for flood victims, i.e. food, housing, financial assistance, how can emotional needs be addressed?
While I was very engaged by Magner's story, many passages in the book are vague, and it was difficult to understand the timeline of events as her life unfolded after the flood. Her memories tumbled out onto the pages, and this is how the book was published.
The book concludes with an afterword provided by Donald Barnett, who was the mayor of Rapid City in June 1972. His recollection of the disaster is fascinating, and provides a brief historical overview that is a fitting complement to Magner's story.
January 31, 2014
I enjoyed the book. I was in Rapid City the weekend before as well as the weekend after this flood. I saw the devastation and felt the pain of the survivors who lost everything, including families. I know the area well.
The basic story was great, but I did not like the way the book kept jumping from present to past. I feel Miss Magner is still a wandering soul who has never found her roots, and possibly never will. She was a spoiled rich kid and it shows!
The basic story was great, but I did not like the way the book kept jumping from present to past. I feel Miss Magner is still a wandering soul who has never found her roots, and possibly never will. She was a spoiled rich kid and it shows!
July 30, 2015
This is a great example of someone with a powerful, important story to tell but without the ability to tell it in a way that reads well. Ms. Magner's incredible story of surviving the 1972 Rapid City flood, which killed most of her family, would probably have best been served in the hands of an established writer or with the assistance of a ghost writer. As a resident of Rapid City, I was eager to read this first-person story but it falls apart under poor story constructs and lack of structure.
August 24, 2014
I always like to start with something positive, so here goes: I bet the writing of this book helped the author cope with her issues. But the writing and story are unengaging. The first chapter alone has at least a dozen different mixed metaphors for a pain that is, at the end of the chapter, still not clear. Darlings need to be killed (a la Will Faulkner). Maybe I'll try reading it again when I have more patience, or at least skip ahead to the relevant story about the flood.
September 29, 2014
The book started out with exxciting moments from the flood and then just went down the drain.
July 10, 2016
A survivor of the 1972 Rapid City flood tells her story. I was very interested in the events of the flood, not so interested in her personal life after the flood.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews