Standing in the Need: Culture, Comfort, and Coming Home After Katrina

The Katrina Bookshelf

by Katherine E. Browne

Standing in the Need presents an intimate account of an African American family’s ordeal after Hurricane Katrina. Before the storm struck, this family of one hundred fifty members lived in the bayou communities of St. Bernard Parish just outside New Orleans. Rooted there like the wild red iris of the coastal wetlands, the family had gathered for generations to cook and share homemade seafood meals, savor conversation, and refresh their interconnected lives.

In this lively narrative, Katherine Browne weaves together voices and experiences from eight years of post-Katrina research. Her story documents the heartbreaking struggles to remake life after everyone in the family faced ruin. Cast against a recovery landscape managed by outsiders, the efforts of family members to help themselves could get no traction; outsiders undermined any sense of their control over the process. In the end, the insights of the story offer hope. Written for a broad audience and supported by an array of photographs and graphics, Standing in the Need offers readers an inside view of life at its most vulnerable.

Genres: Anthropology, Nonfiction, School, Ethnography

281 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2015

Reviews

[Selma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this was an extremely interesting study of the lower ninth ward focusing on the effects of Hurricane Katrina. While Browne was not extremely explicit in her use of theory, I still found this ethnography very well written -- and if you read the footnotes carefully she does mention theory.
This ethnography allowed for a very interesting insight into the lives of those affected by the hurricane, and focused on the story of those that were less fortunate. It seemed absolutely ridiculous the interactions that the interlocutors had with FEMA, a government organisation that was designated to help them; yet, was truly unable to fully communicate with the interlocutors. The use of practice theory in this text was interesting, and how the use of marked vs unmarked English severely affected the interlocutors ability to interact with FEMA. This in turn hindered their ability to actually receive the help they needed; furthermore, the fact that they needed a cultural broker just to receive these resources was insane to me.
Another thing that I found really interesting was the role of the anthropologist in this ethnography on several levels. I mean we had Browne who stepped in and helped navigate the bureaucracy. But, more than that I think that this ethnography beautifully displays the need for organisations like FEMA to remain more culturally relative. For example, in their use of therapy, if an anthropologist had been involved they could have had something more culturally relevant. That pertained more to the that they for example gathered with family around food.
Overall, I thought this was a really good ethnography and would give it 5 out of 5 stars.

[Tena Edlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my Qualitative Research class, we had to choose an ethnography to read and discuss in small groups. They all sounded interesting to me, but this is the one I ultimately chose. It reads like fiction. I learned so much from the experiences of the family studied and had a hard time putting the book down. As a midwesterner, my views of Hurricane Katrina were distorted at best, and at worst, flat-out wrong. If this is qualitative research, sign me up for some more!

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful ethnographical view into the lives of the "Peachy Gang" after their parish was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Through the hardships of losing their homes, struggling with ineffective aid and government bureaucracy, and having to start the progress of their ancestors all over again; the large interconnected family from the Bayou supported each other through it all in an incredible show of strength and perseverance. By the end, this powerful story touched my heart and had me in tears. I highly recommend it whether as a study for recovery anthropology, environmental injustice, or a weekend read.

[Daniel Te · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ethnographic studies like this book really go in depth into certain aspects of culture. While I do think it's insightful, I feel like it's also prone to a limited point of view and biases depending on who is conducting the study. This book definitely has those shortcomings, but also has those strengths. In the end, an interesting read, especially if you've never really been exposed to the culture of the deep south.

[Catherine Gooding · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book... Browne does an excellent job analyzing a truly astonishing amount of ethnographic data, but making it accessible to a range of audiences. I've never felt so invested in an ethnography before! Truly moving

[BJ Elkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal and heartbreaking

I’ll post more thoughts here later, but right now I’m just thankful that I’m taking Dr. Browne’s culture of disaster class.

[Craig Schwinden · Rating 5 out of 5]

WoW! What an eye-opener...the struggles of a family from St Bernard Parish after Katrina...must read!

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ethnographic analysis of the social and cultural impacts of disasters like Hurricane Katrina. From a narrative perspective, this book follows a large family from New Orleans over an 8 year period as they evacuated New Orleans and later as they rebuilt their homes and their lives.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I've read a book for a class or graduate school that made me feel intensely about an issue. This book changed that. I previously attended a lecture by the author so I knew what to expect, read quite a bit about problems associated with the aftermath and recovery from hurricane Katrina, and even spoken with several people with direct experience with (and intense anger toward) FEMA. But this ethnography is deeply personal. It makes you consider the people involved but also question yourself and your family if they were placed in these situations. It gives faces and names to so many stories and honestly it makes you angry at the systems who hurt them, sad for their losses, and in awe of their resilience and strong ties. And finally it provides a look into the long and difficult period after recovery when typically the media or agencies only stick around for a year. A must read. Have comfort foods and tissues handy.