Roots Run Deep Here

I published my first book this spring, based on photos and interviews in New Orleans' Ninth Ward in 2006, nine months after Katrina, and between late 2008 and early 2009. "Roots Run Deep Here: A Return to New Orleans' Ninth Ward After Katrina" is a snapshot of life in the Ninth Ward 3 1/2 years after the storm. Request a copy by contacting me here.

Here is the book preface:

Explaining my fascination with Hurricane Katrina’s impact on New Orleans and its Ninth Ward remains difficult to verbalize. I have never lived in or near New Orleans, and in 2001, when visiting the city on vacation, the Ninth Ward was not on my tour.

As a photojournalist, I was simply fascinated by this all-encompassing drama of Katrina; the crumbling levees, the utter decimation and displacement of an entire urban district, the media coverage of the storm and the humanitarian crisis that followed. Never will I forget the images of the people trapped on their rooftops and waving to the world for help. Or, the families boating through the streets with a few sacks of belongings, leaving behind the lives they once knew.

The federal government’s response to aid New Orleans came days after the storm hit on August 29, 2005. As unrest and despair swelled within a city 80 percent underwater, I grew deeply disturbed by the tragedy and failed response. While initially considering a trip to New Orleans in the early days after Katrina, I knew access would be highly restricted. Nine months later, I decided to go to New Orleans, finally succumbing to the pull of an irresistible force to witness and testify the unbelievable.

After my visit in 2006, I wondered about the future of the Ninth Ward. I remained curious about what scars might remain on the soul and psyche of a place and people robbed of so much, what forces and challenges would shape a recovery, and what would a recovery look like? How and why would generations of families come back home after their entire community was leveled and erased? Compelled to explore and understand this experience I made a series of visits to New Orleans’ Ninth Ward between late 2008 and early 2009. The timing seemed appropriate to observe and chronicle the still very early stages of recovery, as many residents I met had returned home just prior to my first of three visits, or were expecting to in the coming months. Each journey proved to be markedly different. Yet, a common theme emerged among those I interviewed: home. A connection so special and deep, to a place truly unique — one that will never be washed away, no matter how high the water.