OPRF High School alum Rachel Jamieson has penned a book for families with young children affected by Hurricane Helene, one of the deadliest hurricanes to strike the US mainland in the last 50 years.
Titled “There Was a Hurricane,” the e-book aims to help kids better understand the impact of the devastating September 2024 storm.
Jamieson, who has been an early childhood educator for 15 years, co-wrote the book with her friend Karin Erickson, a licensed clinical social worker. Jamieson and Erickson both attended Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C. and then spent several years living in Asheville. Both Swannanoa and Asheville were severely damaged by Helene. Although Jamieson and Erickson now live in Washington, D.C., they were heartbroken by the destruction that the storm inflicted on an area and community that they love so dearly.
“We just had a feeling of devastation once the hurricane hit, and it hit our college town particularly hard,” said Jamieson, whose parents still live in Oak Park. “We couldn’t go down there to help, so we thought ‘what else can we do?’
Because Jamieson and Erickson both work with young children, they knew that teaming up to provide a source of support for the youngest individuals impacted by the storm was their calling.
“I think we both knew immediately that this is kind of our strength and our gift,” Jamieson said. “I write a lot of these stories for children.”
As a teacher, Jamieson writes this type of e-book, also known as a social story, for individual students who need help better understanding certain things that are happening in their lives, such as the addition of a younger sibling or an upcoming surgery. She has also written them for her entire class on more communal topics, like what an upcoming field trip is going to entail.
“It’s really important for children to be spoken to and involved in these big changes in a way that makes sense,” Jamieson said.
In Jamieson and Erickson’s 11-page picture book about Helene, they describe what happened during the storm, what people are doing in the aftermath to clean up, and ways that life might feel different for a while. They also address the feelings that children have likely experienced as a result of the storm and suggest things they can do to feel better.
In addition to helping children, Jamieson said the book also provides adults with a script for how they can tackle this big topic, which they might not have words for yet.
“It can help them feel more confident in engaging in this conversation with children,” Jamieson said.
After completing their e-book, Jamieson and Erickson initially shared it with their own networks. However, the book gained a much wider audience after people started posting about it on social media.
“It snowballed in a way that we never imagined,” Jamieson said.
They have since received emails from school superintendents and teachers in the area, saying that they are utilizing the book with their students.
“It’s being shared in online networks in the early childhood community both county-wide and state-wide,” Erickson said.
To access and share “There Was a Hurricane,” visit https://ow.ly/h3tH50U36XJ