A Walking Disaster: What Surviving Katrina and Cancer Taught Me about Faith and Resilience

by Jamie Aten

Is there a meaning to our suffering? Is hope realistic when tragedy befalls us? Is a return to normalcy possible after our life is uprooted by catastrophe? These are the questions that disaster psychologist Dr. Jamie Aten wrestled with when he was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. In this gripping memoir, Aten shares the life-affirming and faith-renewing insights that he discovered during his tumultuous struggle against the disease.Aten’s journey began in 2005 when Hur­ricane Katrina struck his community. After witnessing the devastation wrought by the storm, he dedicated his career to investigat­ing how people respond to and recover from all manner of disasters. He studied disaster zones around the globe and founded the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College. His expertise, however, was little comfort when a fateful visit with his oncolo­gist revealed advanced and aggressive cancer. “You’re in for your own personal disaster” was his doctor’s prognosis.Thrust into a battle for his life, with cancer cells and chemotherapy ravaging his body, Aten found his professional interest taking on new meaning. His ordeal taught him firsthand how we can sustain ourselves when burdened with seemingly unbear­able suffering. Some of his counterintuitive insights to find hope, be cautious of optimism; when you want help the least is when you need it most; and spiritual surren­der, rather than a passive act, is instead an act of profound courage.This last point speaks to the element of grace in Dr. Aten’s story. As he struggled to understand the significance of his suffering, he found himself examining his Christian faith down to its bedrock and learned to experience the redeeming presence of God in his life. Dr. Aten has a natural exuberance that shines through his writing. Infused with his compassionate voice and humanitarian concern,A Walking Disaster is ultimately an inspirational story about the power of the human spirit to endure trauma with cour­age.

Genres: Faith

232 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 2, 2019

Reviews

[Kevin Wildman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a treasure. Not only is it packed with spiritual and psychological insight, it is filled with truth to help us better help others in their life disasters. That being said, the real treasure is Jamie’s transparency throughout the book. Constantly the reader is reminded that knowing something intellectually does not equate to knowing it emotionally.

Jamie is an incredible storyteller painting word pictures that bring the reader into the room mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It is no exaggeration to say that reading A Walking Disaster is an experience. Granted, it doesn’t compare to the experience that Jamie shares, but he does a great job of helping us experience a glimpse of the emotional, mental, and spiritual journey that he has been on.

I am thankful that he was willing to put this to print and will continue to glean from it.

[Elizabeth Turnage · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’ve been through a serious health crisis and/or a natural disaster, you will appreciate Jamie Aten’s story and how he connects the story to the experiences of everyone who goes through such crises.

If you have not been through such a crisis, his book will help you understand and care well for survivors of all sorts of trauma.

I especially appreciated his naming of spiritual fortitude as a quality that helps people in the midst of crisis. He also offers crucial insights about offering presence in suffering, survivor’s guilt, and the need for community.

I highly recommend it for anyone who works in disaster recovery and/or pastoral care or caregiving of any kind.

[Heatherjoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have already recommended this book to multiple people and I anticipate returning to it myself in years to come. Through sharing his own vulnerability with us, Jamie Aten invites us to learn something of what it looks like to walk through pain and suffering well. So much of what I read reminded me of our family’s own process of walking through the “small death” of my husband’s career a year ago. Jamie gave words and concepts to things we somehow did instinctively. And to ones we haven’t encountered yet. For anyone who is ready to reflect on the spiritual path through pain and loss, this book is an excellent resource. Just keep the tissues nearby.

[Moriah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting perspective on trauma and loss, grief and lament from someone who is trained as a responder to disaster and has experienced his own personal life altering moment.
I feel like this would be a helpful book to read as someone who is 1. walking into a difficult experience or 2. Walking alongside someone who is experiencing something traumatic.
Good insight. Very real. A combination of in the moment self awareness and hindsight reflections.

[Belinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jamie Aten has given us a gift-- an honest look at the personal reflections of one who has suffered and survived. His humiliyt, and genuine writing talent made reading easy, and gleening wisdom abundant. I am better because I engaged A Walking Disaster.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

No complaints but just did not grab me. I wanted to feel more engaged with either the author's situation or his disaster related work. The writing was factual more than story telling. Well, he's an academic, bless his heart.

[Lynette Sykora · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has also walked through cancer and come out the other side, I could relate well to this life story. His insights from disaster studies and his faith journey resonate with me.
Very good read.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read - engaging yet informative.
Offers a great perspective on hope, especially during this global pandemic.

[Graceanne Giles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful story of disaster both personal and wide scale and wrestling that one goes through in their mind.

[Kate Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heavy on the Christian-ese. I would be able to look past that, except in the last third of the book, he throws "resilience" under the bus in favor of "fortitude". Which ... fine, but adopt that as your framework from the start.
And, not entirely fine, because fortitude doesn't allow for "post-traumatic growth," doesn't allow room for the survivor to undergo change and growth as a result of difficulties. Which undermines his entire story, and is antithetical to the very principles of openness, change, and entering into grief that he found significant through his journey. He offers an "alternate definition" for "fortitude," while rejecting the dictionary definition of resilience, in which case...why not just offer an alternate definition of resilience? Why add a new concept, and change that, instead of shifting the concept (that's actually closer to what you're arguing) you're already working with?