What do you think?
Rate this book
Naked: Stripped by a Man and Hurricane Katrina
Librarian's Note: This is an alternate cover edition - ASIN: B00T25NPUG
"Everything moved to the wind's rhythm."
In one week, a house and marriage violently disintegrate. Alone raising an infant in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Julie is surrounded by the rubble of her life - stripped bare by love and loss. Suddenly a single mother, Freed's prose captures the love and adoration for her daughter, the indomitable spirit of her New England family, and her father's unwavering devotion. Touching ties survive even the most powerful surge Mother Nature delivers. This debut memoir candidly reveals intimate details of one woman's shattered dreams as well as humanity's power, resilience, and goodness. Unflinchingly honest, Naked is a remarkable true story of hope, family, and love in a southern coastal Mississippi town.
"Everything moved to the wind's rhythm."
In one week, a house and marriage violently disintegrate. Alone raising an infant in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Julie is surrounded by the rubble of her life - stripped bare by love and loss. Suddenly a single mother, Freed's prose captures the love and adoration for her daughter, the indomitable spirit of her New England family, and her father's unwavering devotion. Touching ties survive even the most powerful surge Mother Nature delivers. This debut memoir candidly reveals intimate details of one woman's shattered dreams as well as humanity's power, resilience, and goodness. Unflinchingly honest, Naked is a remarkable true story of hope, family, and love in a southern coastal Mississippi town.
200 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 17, 2014
94 people are currently reading
354 people want to read
About the author
Julie Freed
1 book89 followersI live in a sleepy artist community on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. My days are spent teaching, reading, and writing. With degrees in mathematics and chemistry, I've taught university undergrads and graduate students for the past decade. I also work with classroom educators and students - sharing the beauty and language of mathematics and its ever present patterns in art, literature, and nature.
On the weekends you'll find us on the soccer field, the boat, the beach, exploring the barrier islands, biking, and always with a good read close at hand.
Love does indeed conquer it!
On the weekends you'll find us on the soccer field, the boat, the beach, exploring the barrier islands, biking, and always with a good read close at hand.
Love does indeed conquer it!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
March 24, 2015
Dr. Julie Freed is a well educated woman from Connecticut who is now a professor at Tulane. She met and married a Southern man who turned out to be a horrible alcoholic. I skimmed some of the story about how happy their marriage was in the beginning. I know the author has to show why she married him in the first place, but we've all made mistakes. The best thing about her marriage was she got a beautiful baby girl out of it.
Just as Katrina was hitting her husband, who was living in Miami Beach, tells her in an email that he wants a divorce. While she is dealing with a devasting storm that will take away her home and everything she owns he is emailing and calling her trying to get out of the marriage. Unfortunate timing, but it really shows his true colors.
When Katrina hit I was in Massachusetts. What I know about the storm is what I heard in the news or heard from others. I wasn't there. A lot of what I heard was about the plight of people in New Orleans, about how corrupt the government was, and about how people were mistreated. It was interesting to read a story by someone who lived out of the city, had money and resources, and had what she needed as much as possible to get through this horrible "act of nature".
Whether you read the story to learn about her relationship or whether you read it to learn more about Katrina, you probably won't be disappointed.
Just as Katrina was hitting her husband, who was living in Miami Beach, tells her in an email that he wants a divorce. While she is dealing with a devasting storm that will take away her home and everything she owns he is emailing and calling her trying to get out of the marriage. Unfortunate timing, but it really shows his true colors.
When Katrina hit I was in Massachusetts. What I know about the storm is what I heard in the news or heard from others. I wasn't there. A lot of what I heard was about the plight of people in New Orleans, about how corrupt the government was, and about how people were mistreated. It was interesting to read a story by someone who lived out of the city, had money and resources, and had what she needed as much as possible to get through this horrible "act of nature".
Whether you read the story to learn about her relationship or whether you read it to learn more about Katrina, you probably won't be disappointed.
August 22, 2016
I purchased the audio version of this compelling story. It was easy to see why the book has won awards. It relates the story of two intertwined crises in the life of the author: dissolution of a marriage due to her partner’s alcoholism, and losing everything due to Hurricane Katrina. At once suspenseful and controlled, the narrative takes the reader/listener through the emotions of both catastrophes. Disbelief, awe, horror, disgust, ambivalence, yearning, and fierce resolution to overcome are portrayed with candor and courage. Dr. Freed’s narration on the audiobook is clear and composed, making the experience of listening even more poignant given the harrowing subject matter. As a psychologist interested in human resilience, I will be recommending this book to friends and patients. It shows us that anyone can get through anything. Five inspiring stars!
April 10, 2017
What a read!
This is my first read of a personal account of living through Hurricane Katrina and what a read it is! While Julie is dealing with preparations to evacuate herself and young daughter she receives a e-mail from her husband, who is in Miami doing surgery rotations, talking about divorce. My heart hurt for the author thinking of the pain she was going through pre, during and post Katrina. Julie Freed has a writing style that keeps you turning the page and wanting to know more, I highly recommend.
This is my first read of a personal account of living through Hurricane Katrina and what a read it is! While Julie is dealing with preparations to evacuate herself and young daughter she receives a e-mail from her husband, who is in Miami doing surgery rotations, talking about divorce. My heart hurt for the author thinking of the pain she was going through pre, during and post Katrina. Julie Freed has a writing style that keeps you turning the page and wanting to know more, I highly recommend.
December 21, 2018
This is an extremely well written account of the double tragedy that struck Julie Freed. Just days before Katrina made landfall, her husband and father of her one-year-old daughter asked for a divorce, thus costing her a marriage. Then Katrina cost her the waterside home she loved so much. It was completely and utterly destroyed and she, along with thousands of others were made homeless.
Much of the book covers the lead up to her divorce and it seems clear the marriage breakdown was foreseeable, but Katrina was not. I have to admit I was more interested in reading about the way Julie and her neighbours found strength and community in helping each other salvage what little was left of their lives after the storm (in her case, two small bins of belongings were the only items left from a complete home) than in the details of her divorce. I would have liked to learn more about the rebuilding and recovery of the area, about the efforts to clear the mess and debris, but I realise that the dissolution of her marriage was so interconnected with the storm, it could not be left out.
What was impressive was the way she managed to keep it all together with a baby, a dog and nothing but a car to call her own. (I was intrigued as to how she still had a car, but that’s a minor detail and maybe I overlooked it). Nevertheless, Julie admits she was one of the lucky ones. She had a loving family and good friends, all of whom were unstinting in their generosity and support. Her family were also able to offer her a home, which many others were not. As she points out, when families live close to each other, they all lose their homes in this kind of disaster. In the south, this is often the case.
The inspiring message about this book was that in the face of so much disaster, the love of family, friendship and community were the glue that kept her from falling apart or into depression and with their help, she was able to get on with rebuilding her home and her life. I am very glad for Julie that she has found happiness again and her story is a powerful one.
Much of the book covers the lead up to her divorce and it seems clear the marriage breakdown was foreseeable, but Katrina was not. I have to admit I was more interested in reading about the way Julie and her neighbours found strength and community in helping each other salvage what little was left of their lives after the storm (in her case, two small bins of belongings were the only items left from a complete home) than in the details of her divorce. I would have liked to learn more about the rebuilding and recovery of the area, about the efforts to clear the mess and debris, but I realise that the dissolution of her marriage was so interconnected with the storm, it could not be left out.
What was impressive was the way she managed to keep it all together with a baby, a dog and nothing but a car to call her own. (I was intrigued as to how she still had a car, but that’s a minor detail and maybe I overlooked it). Nevertheless, Julie admits she was one of the lucky ones. She had a loving family and good friends, all of whom were unstinting in their generosity and support. Her family were also able to offer her a home, which many others were not. As she points out, when families live close to each other, they all lose their homes in this kind of disaster. In the south, this is often the case.
The inspiring message about this book was that in the face of so much disaster, the love of family, friendship and community were the glue that kept her from falling apart or into depression and with their help, she was able to get on with rebuilding her home and her life. I am very glad for Julie that she has found happiness again and her story is a powerful one.
August 21, 2015
Raw, honest, and deeply personal, NAKED is one of the most compelling memoirs I have read for a long time/ Recounting the story of a young mother’s experience in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit the city, it is a story of courage beyond the normal and against more opposition that just the hurricane.
As if having her home shredded and destroyed by a natural phenomenon outside man’s control, she also had to contend with deserting by a two timing husband who couldn’t keep his wick in his own pants and decided the grass was greener elsewhere. What made it more hurtful was that this wasn’t because there was anything wrong with his wife, he just had a permanently roving eye and no self control. So as she faced the hurricane he demanded a divorce. Just like that.
Julie Freed’s account of how she and her son faced disaster and survived is a most compelling narrative. Beautifully written, it is candid and revealing, sharing her most intimate doubts and fears in a way that itself takes great courage, whilst never letting go of hoe, an using her love for her son and determination to give him a decent future as her driving forces to continue. It is a story of some physical suffering, tremendous mental anguish, perseverance and success. It reveals humanity at its most vulnerable and its most durable, while the little help she got from good friends and neighbours shows the value of true friendship.
This book must come in the top ten list of memoirs in my library. That's not just because it's a gripping story, but the way it is told, the raw honesty of it, the quality of the writing, the inspiration it gives which make it stand out from the pile.
Anyone who hasn't yet read NAKED - Stripped by a man and Hurricane Katrina should do so. Apart from being a first class read, you'll be doing Julie a favour by boosting her sales, and after all she’s been through, she must deserve that!
Buy it, read it.
As if having her home shredded and destroyed by a natural phenomenon outside man’s control, she also had to contend with deserting by a two timing husband who couldn’t keep his wick in his own pants and decided the grass was greener elsewhere. What made it more hurtful was that this wasn’t because there was anything wrong with his wife, he just had a permanently roving eye and no self control. So as she faced the hurricane he demanded a divorce. Just like that.
Julie Freed’s account of how she and her son faced disaster and survived is a most compelling narrative. Beautifully written, it is candid and revealing, sharing her most intimate doubts and fears in a way that itself takes great courage, whilst never letting go of hoe, an using her love for her son and determination to give him a decent future as her driving forces to continue. It is a story of some physical suffering, tremendous mental anguish, perseverance and success. It reveals humanity at its most vulnerable and its most durable, while the little help she got from good friends and neighbours shows the value of true friendship.
This book must come in the top ten list of memoirs in my library. That's not just because it's a gripping story, but the way it is told, the raw honesty of it, the quality of the writing, the inspiration it gives which make it stand out from the pile.
Anyone who hasn't yet read NAKED - Stripped by a man and Hurricane Katrina should do so. Apart from being a first class read, you'll be doing Julie a favour by boosting her sales, and after all she’s been through, she must deserve that!
Buy it, read it.
October 3, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed this inspiring story of a woman who was stripped of everything. The timing if her husband wanting out of the marriage just before hurricane Katrina hit was devastating enough but then to lose all her worldly possessions a few days later added to her pain. The story focusses a lot on her relationship with her husband to give background and to give the reader full insight into the man that seemed so callous and uncaring. It gives the reader more understanding as to why he acted the way he did. The support and help from Julie's own family and the strength that her baby daughter gives her is also highlighted and when she is left with nothing they are the ones that are with her. The love given by them and the support received gives her the courage to continue on. A story of strength and courage in the face of adversity.
May 3, 2019
I remember watching news footage and following the progress of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. I saw the devastation and heard about the dreadful impact on people caught in her path. Now I have more understanding, having read Julie Freed's achingly raw, first-hand account. I thought it might be a book I wouldn't finish but I couldn't put it down, I was completely held captive by her story of resilience, courage and hope.
May 11, 2015
This is a good memoir which is enhanced by the fact that the author, whose marriage is falling apart, must also deal with the impacts of Hurricane Katrina. Julie Freed is strong and good-hearted, and may I just say what a relief it was to read about a mother who took such good care of her little baby no matter how much of a struggle it was? Or that the author's parents were good and decent people, too? Their struggles were external but at least they had each others' backs. I was intrigued by the mismatch between Julie and her husband, and he's a tragedy: a guy from the wrong side of the tracks trying to make good and not quite, at this point, succeeding. Although how a person could be so out of control and still be a surgeon is frightening!! A fine story of personal struggle.
October 7, 2014
What a book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this remarkable memoir of how Julie Freed somehow managed to juggle her working life, her baby daughter and the repercussions of a devastating hurricane, with the complicated relationship with her husband. Julie Freed suffered more in such a relatively short space of time than most people go through in a lifetime. She shows incredible strength of character, and the book is an honest, courageous, eye-opening and brilliantly written testament to a harrowing and life-changing period of her life.
May 24, 2017
There are unplanned events that are devastating, and having two of them come down on one's head at one time - dissolution of a marriage, dissolution of a Mississippi waterfront home via Hurricane Katrina, is almost beyond imagining. While dealing with a toddler.
The past events are woven in chapters among hurricane-prep to hurricane aftermath stories. The author's got a lot of grit, and I admire her immensely.
She also had/has a lot of support. She deserves that support, ALL Katrina victims do. Still, I was struck by the amount of privilege she enjoyed: white skin, having a degree (and apparently, no student debt for that degree), insurance, savings, a job that didn't disappear (though her house did), an intact family of origin able to pitch in financially and emotionally... Even a vacation home her parents had bought in the area, that did remain whole, that she could move into while going back to work and beginning clean-up work. Her "rock bottom" was never as deep as some of the other Katrina victims, some of whom are still devastated. It's not something I begrudge her, at all, yay that she had those resources! Yay that she and her baby are thriving! Yet, it made it difficult for me to fully connect with her journey.
It's still an interesting and moving story, and she writes it well.
The past events are woven in chapters among hurricane-prep to hurricane aftermath stories. The author's got a lot of grit, and I admire her immensely.
She also had/has a lot of support. She deserves that support, ALL Katrina victims do. Still, I was struck by the amount of privilege she enjoyed: white skin, having a degree (and apparently, no student debt for that degree), insurance, savings, a job that didn't disappear (though her house did), an intact family of origin able to pitch in financially and emotionally... Even a vacation home her parents had bought in the area, that did remain whole, that she could move into while going back to work and beginning clean-up work. Her "rock bottom" was never as deep as some of the other Katrina victims, some of whom are still devastated. It's not something I begrudge her, at all, yay that she had those resources! Yay that she and her baby are thriving! Yet, it made it difficult for me to fully connect with her journey.
It's still an interesting and moving story, and she writes it well.
July 4, 2015
This is not the genre I normal read when the author asked me to review her book I didn’t know what to expect. The author does give a good story with much pain it is never easy to end a marriage but to find the person you loved for so many years is not the person you thought you knew makes you second guess yourself. Than to have to live through and put your life back together from a storm that bad and do it as your whole life falls apart just blows my mind. I thought this was a great read for a first time author that I feel will grow as she writes more. I found it to be a touching read as my heart goes out to her and her daughter. With all honesty her ex well there just isn’t words to tell what I think of him at least none I can write in this review.
I did feel at times to much information was given which could have been left out to make it a better read. I also have to say more information in some areas would have cleared a few loose ends for me. Even though I found this a very interesting read I did find my mind wondering a little the author pulled me back but as time went on it wondered again. The author did write in a style where you could feel her pain and I thought she wrote it being kinder to her ex than most would have been. You can tell she put her heart and soul in her story. I was glad she found a way to deal with all the issues along with finding happiness in the end. My thoughts are that she deserves it more than most people do. Even though I had a few minor issues with the story I am rating it a 3.75 and rounding it up to a 4 star. I did enjoy it but I can’t say it is a story I would want to read again but I was glad to have read it.
I felt for the devastation that she went through between her husband and Katrina. The author did an outstanding job making you understand and feel her emotions. I thought at times this story was very powerful and moving. I do feel the author needed to write this as a way to heal from ungodly pain. I thought she told her story in style that she should be proud of. My hat is off to her in writing a story her daughter could be proud of. I am sure someday her daughter will read this and be very proud of her mother. I know how hard it is not to tear down a person who has brought you as much pain as her ex did. Most forget when you tear down the other parent you really are tearing down your child. She wrote this in a very classy style why telling a very painful story of her life. Life does go on it doesn’t stop for anyone as Julie found out. I truly believe we each go through hard times to make us a better person and to find where we need to be. If we changed anything in our lives that would change everything, for Julie to find the man she loved, her soul mate she needed to weather the storms of life.
This was a very emotional and touching read, if you like memoirs of how life destroys you and a women who picked herself up in the worst of times to make a better life for herself and her daughter than you should give this a read. I feel sure you will love it as the author gives so much of herself in style.
I did feel at times to much information was given which could have been left out to make it a better read. I also have to say more information in some areas would have cleared a few loose ends for me. Even though I found this a very interesting read I did find my mind wondering a little the author pulled me back but as time went on it wondered again. The author did write in a style where you could feel her pain and I thought she wrote it being kinder to her ex than most would have been. You can tell she put her heart and soul in her story. I was glad she found a way to deal with all the issues along with finding happiness in the end. My thoughts are that she deserves it more than most people do. Even though I had a few minor issues with the story I am rating it a 3.75 and rounding it up to a 4 star. I did enjoy it but I can’t say it is a story I would want to read again but I was glad to have read it.
I felt for the devastation that she went through between her husband and Katrina. The author did an outstanding job making you understand and feel her emotions. I thought at times this story was very powerful and moving. I do feel the author needed to write this as a way to heal from ungodly pain. I thought she told her story in style that she should be proud of. My hat is off to her in writing a story her daughter could be proud of. I am sure someday her daughter will read this and be very proud of her mother. I know how hard it is not to tear down a person who has brought you as much pain as her ex did. Most forget when you tear down the other parent you really are tearing down your child. She wrote this in a very classy style why telling a very painful story of her life. Life does go on it doesn’t stop for anyone as Julie found out. I truly believe we each go through hard times to make us a better person and to find where we need to be. If we changed anything in our lives that would change everything, for Julie to find the man she loved, her soul mate she needed to weather the storms of life.
This was a very emotional and touching read, if you like memoirs of how life destroys you and a women who picked herself up in the worst of times to make a better life for herself and her daughter than you should give this a read. I feel sure you will love it as the author gives so much of herself in style.
April 9, 2016
“Everything moved to the winds’ rhythm.”
And so we begin. Her compelling description of the emptiness around her as we know Katrina is coming, from the swing in the yard that sits empty to the boat docks across the bayou, hooked me at the start. I read the book in one sitting. Her story of Katrina’s power and of the devastation left in the storm’s wake would have made a compelling enough book. That it is set against the dissolution of her seven-year marriage to a narcissistic, probably bi-polar, alcoholic raised the necessary tension to make this a more gripping narrative. The tension was visceral. How can she not see? Why does she continue to make excuses for him? When will she wake up? I never quite got what this intelligent, strong, and obviously smart young woman saw in him. And it drove me a tad crazy.
For me, this was not merely the story of a devastating hurricane nor the story of the dissolution of a marriage. The story that captured my attention, was the story of alcoholism and his narcisism, from the seedlings planted by Connor’s dysfunctional family of origin to the tell-tale signs that no one notices at first, or if they do, they excuse them away. It’s the story of the power of these baffling and cunning diseases and the havoc they both can wreak. There had been signs and she saw them in hindsight, as her mention of her “deeply flawed engagement ring, cracked at its core.” But only in hindsight.
How much more tightly we cling to something that is slipping away from us.
But we also see her humor as in this from early on, “Always drink the good pinot [noir].” Or this one from near the end, “Nothing is sacred anymore when your underwear is hanging from your trees.”
Frustration is my emotion-of-least-resistance and I felt it in large doses throughout the middle section of the book as I watched her continuing to protect him, wipe up after him (literally and figuratively), and enable him.
“A divorce is like a hurricane,” she advices us, contrasting it with a tornado or an earthquake, “you know about them ahead of time.” Living with alcoholism and mental illness was, I thought, all three types of storm in one.
An unexpected bonus was my introduction to Jo Dee Messina and Chris Botti and I got them on Pandora as I finished Freed’s story.
And so we begin. Her compelling description of the emptiness around her as we know Katrina is coming, from the swing in the yard that sits empty to the boat docks across the bayou, hooked me at the start. I read the book in one sitting. Her story of Katrina’s power and of the devastation left in the storm’s wake would have made a compelling enough book. That it is set against the dissolution of her seven-year marriage to a narcissistic, probably bi-polar, alcoholic raised the necessary tension to make this a more gripping narrative. The tension was visceral. How can she not see? Why does she continue to make excuses for him? When will she wake up? I never quite got what this intelligent, strong, and obviously smart young woman saw in him. And it drove me a tad crazy.
For me, this was not merely the story of a devastating hurricane nor the story of the dissolution of a marriage. The story that captured my attention, was the story of alcoholism and his narcisism, from the seedlings planted by Connor’s dysfunctional family of origin to the tell-tale signs that no one notices at first, or if they do, they excuse them away. It’s the story of the power of these baffling and cunning diseases and the havoc they both can wreak. There had been signs and she saw them in hindsight, as her mention of her “deeply flawed engagement ring, cracked at its core.” But only in hindsight.
How much more tightly we cling to something that is slipping away from us.
But we also see her humor as in this from early on, “Always drink the good pinot [noir].” Or this one from near the end, “Nothing is sacred anymore when your underwear is hanging from your trees.”
Frustration is my emotion-of-least-resistance and I felt it in large doses throughout the middle section of the book as I watched her continuing to protect him, wipe up after him (literally and figuratively), and enable him.
“A divorce is like a hurricane,” she advices us, contrasting it with a tornado or an earthquake, “you know about them ahead of time.” Living with alcoholism and mental illness was, I thought, all three types of storm in one.
An unexpected bonus was my introduction to Jo Dee Messina and Chris Botti and I got them on Pandora as I finished Freed’s story.
September 19, 2018
If you are interested in learning more about Hurricane Katrina, this is not the book for you. if you want to read about one divorce, stick with it. I read so many enthusiastic reviews that I felt interested in this book. I was totally disappointed. I thought I would be reading about the experiences lived in Katrina, the shattering effects, the preventive signals, the preparation for it, the dramatic results, the role of authorities, health services, emergency services, and even the consequences for the country as a whole. But the author uses this book mainly to speak about her painful divorce (predictable by their relationship before getting married), which is of no interest but to her closest circle. I think that for an experience to generate interest in others, it must stem from the person's microcosms and be transferred to the broader community, so that it may have an effect on its readers. I seldom leave a book unfinished, but no matter how much I tried, I had to give up.
July 17, 2015
Julie FreedNaked:Stripped by a Man and Hurricane Katrina, is an amazing read that will pull you in to the very essence of what a disaster Katrina was, both emotionally and physically! As well, as a true link between what Julie must have felt in confronting the entire situation with her husband and then embarking on the very real journey of recovery and freedom found in rebuilding! This book gives us all a very real look inside of the journey we all face when we confront any disaster in our lives, be it separation/divorce or catastrophic loss! What strength the author, Julie, must have had to draw on, to get through it all and become the phenomenal writer to be able to bare her soul as she did so eloquently!
January 29, 2016
I was drawn to this book because I have spent time in New Orleans and I also watched with horror on my TV (from the other side of the pond) the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. This memoir told a different story from the one which had been on my screens, but was no less interesting for that. Freed deftly interweaves the physical and emotional stripping from the effects of Katrina and a marriage gone sour. I did fear it might dip too much (for my tastes) into the saccharine, but this was avoided. The writing was raw, lyrical and moving. It did remind me of another book I read recently, 'An Unknown Woman' a novel by British writer Jane Davis about a woman losing everything in a fire. The narrators in both books are strong, though their responses to their crises are different.
May 7, 2014
Naked is a beautifully and eloquently written story of a courageous woman who survived and ultimately flourished from a very dark time in her life. Ms. Freed's writing is so raw and intimate that you feel as if you are guiltily reading a secret journal. She pulls you into the most personal aspects of her life, it is as if you are an actual witness to her experiences. While heart wrenching at times, this story will leave you feeling energized and empowered, such is the strength of this writing. The strength of this woman.
My advice would be to put aside several hours, you will not be able to put it down.
My advice would be to put aside several hours, you will not be able to put it down.
September 6, 2015
I really enjoyed this memoir, the author writes about hard times in her life with such sincerity and insight into what she was going through. The theme throughout is of her marriage, her child and going through hurricane Katrina, in 2005. Very well written, which kept me wanting to read. We feel all of her uncertainties, in her relationship with her husband, her hopes for it and also her growth and strength as she decides what must be done. She was lucky to have a very supportive family and friends behind her, which enable both her and her child to find strength at the time they needed it most.
October 15, 2014
A courageous and often humorous book written by an incredibly brave woman. A story that bought to life for the reality of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. A memoir written from the heart, I felt as if Julie was beside me telling the story. I felt the emotions, saw the horrors as I followed Julie through her journey from "normality" to chaos and uncertainty and finally to a new life stripped bare of all unwanted baggage. Well written, well edited, well formatted with an amazing front cover. Thank you Julie for letting me into your life.
May 25, 2014
WOW, What can one say about this book and the author?
Once I started reading this I had a hard job putting it down to do anything else!
Having visited New Orleans in 1997 I was interested to hear about the impact of Hurricane Katrina on that coastline.
The story of Julie coping with that and the break up her marriage she does with such honesty and the strength she shows is tremendous.
A truly awesome book and well worth reading.
Once I started reading this I had a hard job putting it down to do anything else!
Having visited New Orleans in 1997 I was interested to hear about the impact of Hurricane Katrina on that coastline.
The story of Julie coping with that and the break up her marriage she does with such honesty and the strength she shows is tremendous.
A truly awesome book and well worth reading.
December 4, 2018
Great read especially for Hurricane Katrina victims
I found this book to be very moving because I too lived through the Katrina devastation on the Mississippi coast. Well written and informative. But mostly it's about the strength in coming back from heartache and loss.
I found this book to be very moving because I too lived through the Katrina devastation on the Mississippi coast. Well written and informative. But mostly it's about the strength in coming back from heartache and loss.
November 5, 2016
NAKED is an inspiring tale of a woman courageously surviving both nature's wrath and a man's callousness to his own family. Her triumph in recreating her life and family is moving and amazing.
September 17, 2018
Stripped Naked with no emotions hidden
This was a compelling and honest view into the strength of a woman as she discovers how to rebuild herself in the midst of the aftermath of Katrina. Julie is Freed when she loses everything material to the storm, and shares how in the face of devastation she is able, through the help of family and friends, to navigate an unthinkable divorce and the recovery of her coastal life and home. Freed casts an honest light on to the reality of betrayal, addiction and loss, never succombing to the darkness that could swallow many in her circumstances. She shows how true love of family and friends can buoy one through all life's lows and highs. As we follow her through the days and years leading to Katrina, we discover how this young woman inner strength and her education give her the roots necessary to rebuild a whole life. Kudos to the author who is truly Freed in the storm's aftermath.
This was a compelling and honest view into the strength of a woman as she discovers how to rebuild herself in the midst of the aftermath of Katrina. Julie is Freed when she loses everything material to the storm, and shares how in the face of devastation she is able, through the help of family and friends, to navigate an unthinkable divorce and the recovery of her coastal life and home. Freed casts an honest light on to the reality of betrayal, addiction and loss, never succombing to the darkness that could swallow many in her circumstances. She shows how true love of family and friends can buoy one through all life's lows and highs. As we follow her through the days and years leading to Katrina, we discover how this young woman inner strength and her education give her the roots necessary to rebuild a whole life. Kudos to the author who is truly Freed in the storm's aftermath.
August 12, 2017
A interesting story of loss and survival. Perhaps having lived through Katrina personally unscathed but emotionally and economically impacted by the devastation so near me, enduring a divorce after 11 years of marriage to a man who was not who I thought he would be/was, and being well educated but struggling to realize I was capable of being a strong and independent woman allowed me to connect with the book a little more than the average reader may.
September 17, 2018
Hurricane Katrina and what she produced
I loved reading this book: a storyabout real-life people & a real-life event that changed all of us. Never before had we seen our government fail to bring help to the survivers of a catastrophic event.
I loved reading this book: a storyabout real-life people & a real-life event that changed all of us. Never before had we seen our government fail to bring help to the survivers of a catastrophic event.
March 29, 2019
Read in one go
I found this book impossible to put down once I got started. How the convergence of two life altering events at the same time allowed the author to come out the other side like tempered steel, but able to keep her humanity is a very good read.
I found this book impossible to put down once I got started. How the convergence of two life altering events at the same time allowed the author to come out the other side like tempered steel, but able to keep her humanity is a very good read.
October 14, 2018
Great book! So many relatable topics in this book!
August 26, 2021
A nice piece of life and resilience. A good moment where you can really feel the difficult paths the author is going through. Intense testimony👍🏻
August 6, 2019
Survivor of Hurricane Katrina's rage. She lived in Mississippi.
September 16, 2021
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Julie Freed, you are incredibly strong.
Life, nature, the elements could not have been harsher to you, yet, you rose up from far below to become a new stronger you.
It is true, we cannot fully understand what it is to loose it all unless we experience it ourselves. Your story, so honestly told, so vivid, took us with you down the path of your struggle and your recovery.
You are teaching us a humble lesson.
May the elements let you live a happy flawless life.
I could not recommend any better reading.
Julie Freed, you are incredibly strong.
Life, nature, the elements could not have been harsher to you, yet, you rose up from far below to become a new stronger you.
It is true, we cannot fully understand what it is to loose it all unless we experience it ourselves. Your story, so honestly told, so vivid, took us with you down the path of your struggle and your recovery.
You are teaching us a humble lesson.
May the elements let you live a happy flawless life.
I could not recommend any better reading.
August 26, 2015
What would I do if a raging hurricane took my home and all my things? What if my husband was far away and didn't show up; what if I were abandoned to raise an infant alone in the face of this tragedy?
These are the questions that ran through my mind when I came across Julie Freed's story. I immediately had to purchase her memoir, Naked, as I was so intrigued- just how on earth did this woman cope with such a catastrophic double whammy?
Naked is a story of a warrior mother, tenaciously protecting her infant daughter, and even finding the good, in the aftermath of the devastating Hurricane Katrina. As if Katrina wasn't enough, another kind of hurricane hit her home at the same time- her husband shockingly wanted a divorce.
Somehow, Julie does not fall apart, though if anyone had the free go-ahead to fall apart, it's her. Instead, she seems to draw from her devotion to her small daughter who, in a way, keeps her in the moment (as all small children do). I was also amazed at her ability to take care of business and pull her sleeves up (literally) and make things happen. Her personal connections and sense of community come through as incredibly strong throughout.
Her story is full of candid internal dialogue and vivid, colorful description of the wreckage. However, she does not leave out the beauty of her homestead in Mississippi.
I enjoyed the flashbacks in the book. In reading about the earlier years with her husband- dating, their wedding, his childhood- I became more drawn into the story and curious about the why and how.
Among many other things, Naked by Julie Freed is a story of courage and vulnerability and strength; and a personal account of how this amazing woman dealt with terrible loss and grief. Naked is an example of how we might surprise ourselves when presented with a tremendous challenge(s); it's a story of a woman transformed and triumphant.
I very much enjoyed reading! I recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews