marcy italiano

THE BEST POSSIBLE PLACE
THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME

On August 27, 2005, a Carnival cruise ship docked at the harbor of New Orleans. Amongst the arrivals were Canadian writer Marcy Italiano and her husband, G, wrapping a wild 10-year anniversary celebration in a city they dearly loved.

But this was less than 48 hours before the levees crumbled, and the nightmare began.

Katrina and The Frenchman is a haunting, harrowing first-person account of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, seen from the perspective of two tourists trapped in a city gripped by terror, and coming apart at the seams. Repeatedly finding light in the darkness, and then watching the darkness swallow it whole. Finally forced to escape on their own, when the system broke down completely.

Mostly, though, this is a story about beautiful people, and what they become as their hope runs out.

“I love this book. It’s a riveting story, intimately told with skill, deep humility, startling honesty, and the kind of stark photographic recall most people only achieve when they find themselves suddenly slapped within an inch of their lives by death. Which is, of course, precisely what happened; and that profound revelation is delivered intact throughout the course of this beautiful, powerful work.”
-- John Skipp, bestselling author of Jake’s Wake and The Light At The End