Not Just the Levees Broke: My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina [Hardcover]

Phyllis Montana-Leblanc (Author), Spike Lee (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 2008

Called "one of the rawest specimens of classic Nawlins spitfire you'll ever find" by "Newsweek," and featured in Spike Lee's HBO documentary "When the Levees Broke," Phyllis Montana-Leblanc gives an astounding and poignant account of how she and her husband lived through one of our nation's worst disasters, and continue to put their lives back together.

New Orleans Hurricane Katrina survivor Phyllis Leblanc reveals moment by moment the impending doom she and her family experienced during one of the greatest disasters in contemporary American history. The initial weather forecast, the public warnings from officials, and then the increasingly devastating developments -- the winds and rain, the rising waters -- "Not Just the Levees Broke" begs the question, What would you do in a life-and-death situation with your family and neighbors facing the ultimate test of character?

"Not Just the Levees Broke" is a portrayal of the human spirit at its best -- the generosity of family, neighbors, and strangers; the depth of love that one can hold for another; the power to help and heal others.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Leblanc, one of the Hurricane Katrina survivors featured in Spike Lee’s HBO documentary When the Levees Broke, offers her own extended recollection of the destruction of New Orleans’ Ninth Ward. Leblanc details the decision her family made to stay in their apartment and ride out the storm and the preparations they made for what they thought would be just another hurricane. Leblanc, her husband, Ron, her mother, and a young nephew with autism were among the Ninth Ward residents mired in filthy water and inhuman conditions following the storm. Leblanc recalls, in very human flashes of selfishness, not wanting her more altruistic husband to risk his life helping others. She, a more reluctant hero, plotted to punish political figures she held responsible, as she struggled along atop the levee, overcoming her own fears to help strangers and try not to judge those who took advantage. All the while, Leblanc wondered about the politics of the city and the nation that would allow such a tragedy. A very plainspoken and personal look at a tragedy with national consequences. --Vanessa Bush

About the Author

Phyllis Montana-Leblanc is a resident of New Orleans, who has recently moved out of a FEMA trailer into her new home with her husband. She continues to put the pieces of her life back together.

Spike Lee is one of the most prominent and influential media figures today. His films include the critically acclaimed School Daze; Academy Award nominee Do the Right Thing; Malcolm X; Clockers; and 25th Hour. Born in Atlanta, Spike attended Morehouse College and NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where he earned his master of fine arts degree in film production. Spike and his wife are the authors of Please, Baby, Please, their first picture book with Simon & Schuster. They live in New York City with their two children.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Atria; 1st Atria Books Hardcover Ed edition (August 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416563466
• ISBN-13: 978-1416563464
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,329,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Phyllis Montana-Leblanc was born December 24, 1963 to Phillip and Clovina Rita Montana, in New Orleans, Louisiana. As a young child, Phyllis fell in love with writing poetry after being introduced to the poetry of Phillis Wheatley. Phyllis and her family are Hurricane Katrina Survivors, which came ashore August 29, 2005. Phyllis was featured in Spike Lee's HBO Emmy Award Winning Documentary; "When The Levees Broke." From there she wrote her memoir about her first-hand experiences during and after Hurricane Katrina; "Not Just The Levees Broke" My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina. Foreword by: Spike Lee. Phyllis then received an email from David Simon(HBO's "The Wire") asking her to read for a part in his new HBO Drama Series("Treme")and she "nailed it." Phyllis was hired to play the live-in girlfriend to native New Orleanian and actor, Wendell Pierce(Det.Bunk on "The Wire"). Treme is currently filming in New Orleans and has been picked up by HBO after seeing it's pilot. Phyllis and her husband, Ron continue to rebuild their lives in New Orleans, along with Phyllis' beloved Yorkshire Terrier, Brooklyn,a 3 year old male. Phyllis has also recently become a SAG Member and is looking forward to being able give back to her community and is passionately fighting for a hospital with emergency services to reopen in their living area, which still remains closed since Hurricane Katrina and hopes to refurbish neighborhood parks for children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very powerful and eye opening book, August 17, 2008

By 

A customer "mistermaxxx" (usa) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Not Just the Levees Broke: My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina (Hardcover)

i watched and followed the whole katrina storm, have family and friends who dealt with it and the whole aftermath, but when you read this book you getr a up close and direct day by day account of just what went down and the many obstacles faced during and after it's devasting effect on all people involved.Phyllis Montana Leblanc pulls no punches and speaks on her and Her Husbands situation through this brutal and unfair storm. it forever changed lives. this is a powerful must read Book ASAP and a reminder of natural disasters and how to be prepared for and what to do. very detailed and a strong,strong book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Put's You Right There With Them, September 2, 2008

By 

C. B. Hardy (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Not Just the Levees Broke: My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina (Hardcover)

NOLA has a special place in my heart and I swear to this day I won't go back because of how Katrina all went down. When I saw Phyllis Montana Leblanc on Spike Lee's "When the Levees Broke" I knew there was something about this woman. She spoke with power and the pain of someone who survived a great ordeal. And she didn't mind expressing herself with a curse word or two, which reinforces the BS the survivors went through.

I heard about the book when she was being interviewed on the Tom Joyner show. I rushed out and got it. Let me tell you, this book takes you where the TV did not. I can't imagine how they did made it. Sticking around vs. leaving town. Taking the chance to go out beyond their "safe haven" through murky waters. Going from place to place until they ended up in San Antonio. Going for a week in the clothes on their backs and no baths.

Phyllis Montana Leblanc is no seasoned writer, nor did the editor correct every pargraph or sentence. I don't think that is what this book is about or meant to be presented as. Keep in mind this is her personal account, just as if you were reading her journal or sitting out on the porch listening to her tell it to you - minute by minute. I finished the book on a lazy afternoon, it's only a couple hundred pages but makes you feel like you endured the entire week.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Her story, November 30, 2008

By 

Merna M. Ward (New Orleansa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Not Just the Levees Broke: My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina (Hardcover)

I really liked Spike Lee's movie, When the Levee Broke,
and feel that the Montanna sisters really made that film.

I know anyone who also appreciated this film will be
interested in reading the book Phyllis wrote
about her family's experience and struggle with Hurricane
Katrina and the aftermath. It is another perspective of
what it was like to be in the middle of it and not observed
from the outside as an academic and is a welcome addition to
the library of Hurricane Katrina books that are now out.

I was troubled when Phyllis said in her presentation at the
Louisiana Book Festival that she had not read her own book
but she assured me she meant that she did not want to review it
after it was completed because it was such a painful experience
reliving the ordeal over again as she recounted it.

I understand she is now out of the fema trailor and has purchased
a new home and will be continuing university studies and possibly
playing herself in a television series about New Orleans.
I knew she would prevail in the end! I expect this is not the
last effort from her and that she has a bright future ahead in the literary world.