It seems a lifetime since we were hard at work rebuilding on the Gulf Coast, One of the worst affected towns was Bay St. Louis. Blogs and newspapers claimed it had been "wiped off the map." It wasn't, of course.

My first trip down I spent an unforgettable night with Ellis Anderson, who had opened her home to anyone who was willing to help. The home was hard to find. Debris blocked the road. Inside, though, there was good people, good food and good music. It was a place totally alive.

Ellis blogged regularly and for years I kept a pulse on what our clients were really thinking by reading her blog. Now Ellis has published a book about living in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and what exactly happened to her town, Bay St. Louis. It's called Under Surge, Under Siege: The Odyssey of Bay St. Louis and Katrina and is a must-read for anyone interested in rebuilding after disaster here in the United States--and beyond.