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Rising: Stories of the 2013 Alberta Flood
This bestselling book examines one of the largest natural disasters in Canadian history as never before: through the eyes of the people it directly affected. Told in a narrative non-fiction style, and intercut with informative history of Calgary and southern Alberta, Rising puts a human face on the massive flood that affected thousands of people and caused at least $6 billion in damage.
The stories are unknown but familiar, commonplace yet extraordinary: an elderly woman and her son forced to flee as their High River home gives way to the water; a homeless man searching the dark empty streets of Calgary for shelter; Siksika First Nation’s emergency responders using boats to pluck residents from half-submerged houses. The remarkable community spirit of Bowness; the Calgary Highlanders reserve forces unit working to save Inglewood, the original settlement of Calgary, from erosion. These and other stories come together to form a glimpse of the remarkable time when Calgary and southern Alberta fell to their knees and found a way to rise up again.
The stories are unknown but familiar, commonplace yet extraordinary: an elderly woman and her son forced to flee as their High River home gives way to the water; a homeless man searching the dark empty streets of Calgary for shelter; Siksika First Nation’s emergency responders using boats to pluck residents from half-submerged houses. The remarkable community spirit of Bowness; the Calgary Highlanders reserve forces unit working to save Inglewood, the original settlement of Calgary, from erosion. These and other stories come together to form a glimpse of the remarkable time when Calgary and southern Alberta fell to their knees and found a way to rise up again.
230 pages, Paperback
First published April 22, 2014
5 people want to read
About the author
Taylor Lambert
6 books3 followersTaylor Lambert is an Alberta journalist and the author of four nonfiction books.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 17, 2020
'Rising' by Taylor Lambert is a nice time capsule of the personal experiences of several people who lived through the 2013 Alberta flood. A massive event in comparison to even historic, record-setting floods, the inundation caused a huge amount of property damage throughout Calgary, High River, and Siksika First Nation.
In some ways, there's not a lot to review within this book. It's a pretty prototypical example of the genre of retelling disaster events from personal perspectives, involving a rotation of vignettes with recurring characters. The general themes - initial crisis, community resilience, finding purpose - they're predictable, though welcome. It's certainly an interesting read, so long as you are interested in this style of book (foregrounding individual stories of how people responded to the crisis).
All that said, it's a useful preservation of these stories, if necessarily anecdotal. If you want a window into what it was like to live through this historic moment, it's a good read.
In some ways, there's not a lot to review within this book. It's a pretty prototypical example of the genre of retelling disaster events from personal perspectives, involving a rotation of vignettes with recurring characters. The general themes - initial crisis, community resilience, finding purpose - they're predictable, though welcome. It's certainly an interesting read, so long as you are interested in this style of book (foregrounding individual stories of how people responded to the crisis).
All that said, it's a useful preservation of these stories, if necessarily anecdotal. If you want a window into what it was like to live through this historic moment, it's a good read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review