55th Anniversary of a Tornado That Still Spawns Fears

KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- May 20th will mark the 55th anniversary of the Ruskin Heights tornado, an F-5 killer that ripped through two states. In her latest book, Caught Ever After, Children of the Ruskin Heights Tornado, (http://carolynglennbrewer.com) author Carolyn Glenn Brewer details the stories of dozens of survivors who were children in 1957 and chronicles how this storm has followed its victims throughout their lives.

Brewer, herself a survivor of this tornado, recalls the confusion of not knowing what a tornado was and not receiving answers from adults. In her interviews of classmates and childhood friends she found that was not uncommon. Comments like, "Maybe if I tell my story the tornado will quit following me around," or, "I still dream it comes looking for me," or, "The tornado was talked about so little I had almost convinced myself it didn't happen," make clear the half-century trauma this tornado left in its wake.

Caught Ever After makes the point that although tornado detection is far advanced from techniques used in 1957 (the developer of Doppler Radar is a child of the Ruskin Heights tornado) and trauma counseling is accepted and widely practiced, children still experience tornados differently than adults. Their fears and insecurities must be addressed.

Media attention to the book has been very positive. KCUR, the local NPR station, devoted an hour-long show to the book and Morning Edition quoted Brewer in a piece on the children of last year's Joplin tornado. Kirkus Review calls Caught Ever After, "An almost unbearably vivid tale ... emotionally wrenching." BookReview.com rates it, "an excellent book."  One Amazon customer comments, "Glenn-Brewer's ability to pull us into the story, and make us totally interested in finding out what happens, is a rare gift." On May 22 a Dramatic Reading presentation of the book will be presented at a local venue.

The 71-mile-long tornado that changed Brewer's childhood touched down at 6:15 p.m. on May 20, 1957, two miles southwest of Williamsburg, Kansas. Growing in strength from an F-4 to and F-5, it tore through the communities of Ottawa and Spring Hill, Kansas and Martin City, Grandview, Hickman Mills and Ruskin Heights, Missouri. Forty people were killed, 531 were injured and 842 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed.

AUTHOR BIO

Carolyn Glenn Brewer, writer, historian, teacher and lecturer, is also a child of the Ruskin Heights tornado.  This is her second book. Her widely acclaimed first book, Caught In The Path, A Tornado's Fury, A Community's Rebirth, has been featured on local and national television and radio programs, and adapted into a one-act play. She has also written for JAM Magazine. She and her husband live in Kansas City, where besides writing she spends her time as a band director and musician.

Contact:

Carolyn Glenn Brewer
[email protected]  
816-361-1354

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SOURCE Carolyn Glenn Brewer