Standing in the Need

"Standing in the Need delivers an epic story about disaster and the haunting problems imposed by our ‘recovery culture.’ The lesson in these pages is of urgent concern as the world moves into weather we have never seen before. This is a book we must read in our book groups, in our university courses, in our city halls and in our centers of bureaucracy. It should be the entrance exam for employment at FEMA. It will certainly be required reading in all of my courses."

— Mindy Fullilove, MD, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University

"By telling the vivid story of one family’s ordeal in Hurricane Katrina, Browne’s book offers completely new and highly relevant insights into disaster response. No other study in the field bears such focus and intensity. With uncommon discernment Browne shows how culture, history, language, customs, rituals, and especially kinship, so often ignored, are key factors in recovery and how, when they are disregarded, create far worse devastation for survivors. Browne imparts to us all what we have so blithely neglected."

— Susanna Hoffman, disaster anthropologist and director, Hoffman Consulting

"I am moved by the honesty and compassion of Browne’s enthralling narrative and the ways she captures both the cherished bonds of family and the world of the dispossessed.  A stunning ethnography."

— Carol Stack, author of All Our Kin and Call to Home

"The book’s close ethnographic style gives us a textured view of the daily practices through which those most impacted by disasters make their lives meaningful and assist one another. . . . The book features an innovative use of graphic art that familiarizes readers with the experiences as well as the historical and environmental contexts of Katrina’s displaced."

— Current Anthropology

"This book answers the question of what people need in order to recover from disasters like Hurricane Katrina...(it) is distinguished by the comprehensive nature of its ethnographic methods, the eight-year time period of the in-depth research, and the recommendations for how people can support families who undergo devastating trauma from events like a hurricane."

— Choice

". . . her text reads like good journalism – sharp, clear, observant, insightful, and meaningful. Browne’s seasoned expertise as a cultural anthropologist and keen writing skills allow her to produce a book that offers much to disaster recovery professionals, policymakers, and academics outside her field about disaster recovery politics, the complexities and variability of African-Americans’ social lives and experiences, as well as the continuities of institutionalized racism in the United States."

— Ethnic and Racial Studies

"Drawing on the post-storm experience of the St. Bernard family, Browne suggests that recovery agencies could reduce suffering and speed healing by learning about the history, culture, and distinctive customs and needs of disaster-impacted communities. The provision of places to gather, places to cook big meals, and places to care for children could assist in repairing frayed cultural bonds and offer a roadmap for recovery."

— Contemporary Sociology