I Lost Almost Everything in a Natural Disaster—Here is How I Recovered

When wildfires, earthquakes or hurricanes like Ida leave devastation, it doesn't have to be the end, for you or those you care about

The remains of the author's home after a devastating 2007 wildfire. Courtesy of Wendy Keller

By Wendy Keller

I watched my next-door neighbor’s house burn on CNN. I was at my brother’s house in a Chicago suburb that day, visiting family for Thanksgiving 2007. There was nothing I could do. It was reasonable to expect that our home would be next, if it wasn’t already gone.

It was.