Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I have to be honest with you. I really struggled to figure out just what to make of "Not Just The Levees Broke". After all, Phyllis Montana-Leblanc is not a writer by trade and as she predicted a number of times in the book her salty language was indeed a bit of a turn-off for me. Nevertheless, after much thought and soul searching I have come to the conclusion that the country really does need to hear from more average folk like Phyllis if we are ever to begin to solve the myriad problems that we are facing in this nation. "Not Just The Levees Broke: My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina" is a riveting first person account of one person's monumental struggle for survival in the aftermath of one of the greatest natural disasters in American history. It is compelling reading.

Although she alway enjoyed writing a little poetry I doubt that Phyllis Montana-Leblanc ever imagined that one day she would write and publish a book. This incredible opportunity came along after Phyllis was interviewed for Spike Lee's documentary film "When The Levees Broke". Spike Lee was extremely impressed with what Phyllis had to say and the way she was able to say it. It was apparent to Lee that Phyllis was "the dominent voice in the piece". Well one thing led to another and before long the chance to do a book came along. And Phyllis made the most of her once in a lifetime opportunity. Now I will have to admit that some of Phyllis' choicest language was entirely justified. Her graphic descriptions of her immediate surroundings in the aftermath of the storm seem entirely justified. There is simply no polite way to describe a scene where water polluted with oil, garbage, debris and human excrement is flooding your home. I could not have imagined how bad things really were in the City of New Orleans during those dark days but Phyllis Montana-Leblanc succeeds in making it all abundantly clear. Phyllis also decries what she considers to be the woefully inadequate response of government at all levels to this dreadful situation.

After finishing "Not Just The Levees Broke" I came to this conclusion. Author Phyllis Montana-Leblanc is a person who loves her city, loves her country, loves her family and loves her God. She is definitely a person who has something to say and without Hurricane Katrina we would have never heard from her. All of this makes me wonder if it would be not be great idea to offer more so-called "average" Americans the opportunity to write a book. I suspect there are lots of talented writers out there who do something else for a living that would just love to do this. There is obviously no shortage of books out there by the cultural elite. Perhaps some publisher would consider an "Ordinary Americans" series. At the end of the day I found "Not Just The Levees Broke: My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina" to be well worth my time. It is unlike any book that I have ever read before. Kudos to Phyllis Montana-Leblanc for a job well done! Recommended.

This is how author closes the last chapter of her story. It made me laugh. It is one of the few things to laugh about in this book.

If you have ever wanted to sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with a survivor of the Katrina disaster, then this is the book for you. The author and her husband did what they felt they needed to do in order to prepare for the storm. They had their cell phones fully charged; filled their tubs with water; cooked plenty of food which they sealed in ziplock bags; set aside water, and secured the windows. But when the roof started to fall in, and they had to make an emergency evacuation, they were forced to leave these things behind and become what the television pundits called "refugees". What happened next makes for a gripping first hand account of their struggle to survive not just during the storm but during the aftermath.

Something she says in her book sums it up: "To say that Hurricane Katrina traumatized me would be a flat-out lie. I was traumatized by being left behind for so long without my family. We were left to die."

This was a hard book to rate. While the author's story is worthy of 5 stars, the presentation, as the Newsweek reviewer noted, is raw. It is unpolished, tends to ramble and could have used better editing. I'd rate it 3 stars. So I averaged the two out and gave it 4 stars.

At times a painful story to read, I learned a lot by doing so. I wish the author and her family the best, as I wish the best for others who also suffered through Katrina.

When the HBO documentary about Hurricane Katrina first aired, I found that I focused so much on Mrs. Montana-Lablanc because she was so matter-of-fact and her poem was written from her heart. I wondered about her for years and when I saw she had written a book about her Hurricanc Katrina experience, I was relieved that she had become a true survivor. This book explains how she was able to survive the trauma and answers any questions left unanswered. She give alot of insights into what did and didn't happen that were not covered by the documentary. Anyone interested in information about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath from the point of a true survivor should read this book.

Wow...

I have Spike's Video & had to hear more of what Phyllis has to say about this heart breaking human event.

Every American should read this book with an open heart & open mind & search within for the level of forgivness Phyllis has shown in her words & actions.

As a native of lower Louisiana. I have been surviving Hurricanes since I was born. Seeing that the Hurricane passed New Orleans-after hitting lower Plaquemines Parish-and the city was a little wet but these stupid levee systems-which cost tax payers millions-were destroyed by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and not "Breached" by the storm-The role of the US Army Corp in La is to work for the Texas oil companies and survey private property for theft-and since the 1930's(Bohemian Spillway) these people have flooded out the lower ninth ward or "black areas" by having an official policy of blowing up or "breaking" the levee system(as they did in 60's Betsy and Camile)-this was mass murder. Everyone knows that a civilian investigation needed to happen and Bush blocked it. Today in Plaquemine Parish the folks are now having to fight the U.S. government and state Gov. to reclaim their land. Even with all of this-the media will NOT show that the new levees are being rebuilt weaker and lower-so who really hit New Orleans? Katrina, Oil companies, Army Corp??? It wasn't hit by a Hurricane!


http://creoleneworleans.typepad.com/creole_folks/2009/03/retired-military-vet-ronald-treadaway-sr-takes-on-la-levee-crimes-by-the-state-ted-duplessis.html

Here is a true American hero. She survived one of the biggest tragedies of the modern age and carried herself forward through the aftermath to dazzle us all with her wit, her charm, her intelligence - and the beautiful, selfless example of her spirit of forgiveness.

The example Montana-LeBlanc sets is gift to all of us. Would that I could live up to her example in the face of adversity... She is a model of positive and constructive energy that every parent can hold up to their children as a lesson in resilience and good.

I read the book in 3hrs. Parts of the book I could actually feel myself in her situation; getting tense, anxious, paranoid. But it was nothing compared to what the people of New Orleans had to endure from Katrina...I really enjoyed the book!