Resiliency in the Face of Disaster & Terrorism
V. Alex Kehayan & Joseph C. Napoli
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2005 Personhood Press
ISBN: 1932181180

10 Things to Do to Survive.

This new millennium seems to have ushered in a slew of worldwide disasters -- the terrorism of 9/11 & bombings in Spain, London & around the world; typhoons, hurricanes, floods, droughts & wildfires; the 12/27 Tsunami -- how would you have survived any one of these traumatic events? How prepared are you?

When the authors published Resiliency in the Face of Disaster & Terrorism Hurricane Katrina had already devasted the Gulf Region of the United States -- as you watched it unfold on tv did you wonder: “What would I have done?”

I live with a fellow who firmly believes in being as prepared as possible for Armageddon, so we update our survival plans with each disaster -- gas tank full, knowing exactly where are our IDs, meds, deeds, flashlights, extra clothes, food & water, etc. It validates our efforts when we read books like this, & it lets us sleep at night, knowing we're as prepared as we can be.

So what does Resiliency in the Face of Disaster & Terrorism tell you that you didn't know already? That you're not nearly as prepared as you think you are...

In 10 fast & succinct chapters -- it has no flourishes & makes no claim to being literature -- the authors offer information on:
 1.  determining what might happen in your life: injury • heart attack • wildfire • car crashes • earthquakes • domestic violence • rape • illness • storms • tornadoes • shooting • flash floods • robbery • terrorism • poverty, among many...
 2.  Learn what to expect
 3.  how to prevent
 4.  how to prepare
 5.  how we react, & why
 6.  when to get help
 7.  seeking help
 8.  helping yourself
 9.  helping other
10.  Do 10 to 9

Addressing issues of physical & mental health, this practical pocket guide offers concrete strategies for surviving a disaster. It also outlines how best to sustain mental health & emotional resiliency long after the event is over. You immediately benefit from the reassurance that comes from having a map for responding appropriately. You will also learn what to say & not to say to comfort & support others. Reassuring in a time of uncertainty, this handbook empowers you with a collection of personal tools to prevent, prepare for, respond to, & recover from calamity.

V. Alex Kehayan, EdD, is an educator, practicing clinical psychologist, & author. He is the director of the Edu-Psych Center in Ridgewood, New Jersey, & the deputy chief of the Emergency Management Community Crisis Response Team in Fort Lee, New Jersey. He serves on the board of directors of the National Peer Helping Association & trains peer leaders & professionals in crisis prevention, intervention skills, emergency management program design, & psychological first aid.
Joseph C. Napoli, MD, specializes in disaster psychiatry, traumatic stress, & post-traumatic stress disorders. He is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, where he teaches emergency psychiatry.
(09/11/05)

Rebecca