A book never to be forgotten

Hurricane Ike changed everything.

For our mostly young news staff at The Daily News, the hurricane caused suffering and loss. It produced friendships that will last a lifetime. It challenged them as no story ever had. It made them better.

Now, Leigh Jones, 34, who no longer works for us, and Rhiannon Meyers, 27, who does (thank goodness) have partnered to write a book about Ike, “Infinite Monster: Courage, Hope and Resurrection.” The book will be available June 15.

Trust me — it’s really wonderful.

I’m not just saying that because I like and respect Jones and Meyers. I’ve read nearly every book on Ike and all the ones on the 1900 Storm. I think “Infinite Monster” is better than all of them. I couldn’t put it down.

The book tells the story of the storm through the eyes of real, live people as they experienced it. It begins as the storm formed west of Africa and continues the narrative until roughly a year after Ike hit Galveston on Sept. 13, 2008.

The stories are thrilling, funny and sometimes tragic. They tell the story of the heroism of Galveston’s public responders. The book details the difficulty of making political and policy judgments on the fly, in mid-disaster. But it is, more than anything, a very moving human story, and it is beautifully written.

For example, it tells the tragic story of well-known Galveston curmudgeon Fletcher Harris. His story began in defiance of the storm and ended many months later in dementia and death. Harris died well after the storm passed, but he was its victim as surely as anyone who drowned Sept. 13, 2008.

His story is all too symbolic of the often-overlooked plight of the elderly who fail to thrive after a storm passes.

Interestingly, Jones and Meyers never mention themselves in the body of the book, and they rarely mention The Daily News. In an era when journalists often place themselves at the center of the action, they showed remarkable restraint.

At the end of the book, there is an epilogue that tells their story briefly. It relates how both reporters’ families lost nearly everything they owned.

But that short epilogue does not adequately describe the courage of these two young women. They slept on the floor at The Daily News for days after the storm. They worked around the clock for months under the worst possible conditions with fire in their hearts.

They never gave in to despair and never surrendered.

Both Jones and Meyers say they learned a lot from Ike, and it shows in the book.

“Hurricane Ike solidified my love for Galveston,” Meyers said. “Galveston is the first place that has felt like home for me since I left my parents’ house to go to college. Ike strengthened my connection to this place. I have deep respect for Galveston’s ability to rise up and dust itself off after devastating disasters.”

“Ike reminded me that much good can come from disaster,” Jones said. “I would never have willingly given up all the things that Ike took from me, but I came away with a much clearer understanding of the importance of people over possessions and challenge over comfort.”

She said: “I would never have known how much I could withstand without Ike. The storm gave me freedom to live my life without being afraid of what I might lose if I take risks.”

Both young women wanted to write a book about Ike to remind the world of what Galveston endured and still is enduring.

“It’s a story that was nearly forgotten amid a failing economy and a historic presidential election,” Meyers said. “‘Forgotten’ was actually the original title of the book. This was a story of devastation and loss, but also one of rebirth and renewal in the face of all obstacles, and we didn’t want that story to be forgotten.”

Dolph Tillotson is publisher of The Daily News.

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‘Infinite Monster’

“Infinite Monster” will be available in stores June 15. Readers now can place advance orders at Amazon.com. The Daily News will host a reception for the authors from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. June 18, and books will be available for sale at the reception.

Firms offering the book for sale in Galveston so far are: The Admiralty, Tina’s, Gracie’s, UTMB gift shop, Big House Antiques, The Front Parlor, Galveston Outfitters and Galveston Bookshop. Other sales locations will be added later.