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Katrina: After 20
“Italiano introduces us to a small group of survivors, referring to them by colorful nicknames--a city of origin or a distinguishing feature. He takes us through the tedium of waiting and not knowing, their gradual loss of faith that they might ever get home again. His book is intensely personal… “ AFTER 20 is a fast read, constructed in the form of a personal diary or a blog, but it will have a lasting and profound impact on readers as they are escorted on a guided tour of the closest thing to hell this continent has experienced in a long time.” -- Bev Vincent, author of
The Road to the Dark Tower
After 20 is the firsthand account of Dean and G Italiano, who through an unfortunate twist of fate, ended up in New Orleans to celebrate their wedding anniversary just before Katrina struck. At times, funny, heartbreaking, and terrifying, After 20 serves both as a journal and as a reminder of just how deadly that storm was, as well as its aftermath on the two people who lived through it. All to the soundtrack of a cheap wristwatch alarm’s hourly beeping.” -- Mike Rimar, author of Hound of the Arcanum
After 20 is the firsthand account of Dean and G Italiano, who through an unfortunate twist of fate, ended up in New Orleans to celebrate their wedding anniversary just before Katrina struck. At times, funny, heartbreaking, and terrifying, After 20 serves both as a journal and as a reminder of just how deadly that storm was, as well as its aftermath on the two people who lived through it. All to the soundtrack of a cheap wristwatch alarm’s hourly beeping.” -- Mike Rimar, author of Hound of the Arcanum
290 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 13, 2025
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July 7, 2025
Dean Italiano and his husband Giasone ("G" for short) were visiting New Orleans when Katrina hit in August of 2005, and were trapped there in the nightmarish aftermath. There are scenes in this memoir of Dean's experiences that will haunt me just as they've haunted him in the years since. The desperate search for food, drink, and most of all, information. Wading through filthy, waist-high water. The enormity of the human suffering and misery he witnessed at the Convention Center, where residents were told by the radio to go for help, only to find no help at all. The wailing woman carrying her dead baby out of the Convention Center and into the streets, her mind completely shattered by the inconceivable tragedy.
For many of us, the infuriating failure of local and Federal governments to do anything to help the people of New Orleans until it was too late for far too many felt abstract, something we experienced through the newspapers and TV news. For Dean and G, it was lived experience, and one that didn't end when they finally got out. The trauma followed them home, coming out in unexpected ways, such as Dean's crushing inability to let go of his water bottle. It's an experience he will never forget, and neither will you.
KATRINA: AFTER 20 is harrowing, immediate, and unforgettable.
For many of us, the infuriating failure of local and Federal governments to do anything to help the people of New Orleans until it was too late for far too many felt abstract, something we experienced through the newspapers and TV news. For Dean and G, it was lived experience, and one that didn't end when they finally got out. The trauma followed them home, coming out in unexpected ways, such as Dean's crushing inability to let go of his water bottle. It's an experience he will never forget, and neither will you.
KATRINA: AFTER 20 is harrowing, immediate, and unforgettable.
Displaying 1 of 1 review