We all have our reasons. We talk about EMPs, Civil Unrest, Ebola, Terrorist Takeovers, etc. We also occasionally throw in something about natural disasters: hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and fires. Many of us are simply trying to live a more frugal, healthy and independent lifestyle.
I do a lot of research online and am often downloading eBooks to my Kindle with titles like "52 Easy Steps to a Frugal New Life" and "Grandma's Herbal and Homemade Remedies," "Gun Safety Guide" and "How To Build A Greenhouse."
But I also have an obsession for Preparedness Fiction, Disaster Fiction, Apocalyptic Fiction and I have 100's of those downloaded to my Kindle, as well.
98% of what I download is free and it's a good thing, too, as I read around 100 Kindle pages a day.
Last night, I went searching for more free fiction downloads under the search words "Disaster Fiction." I found one book about England suffering from a freak electrical storm that completely destroys the country called "The Night The Lights Went Out" by John Eider. I was having a bit of difficulty getting into that one because it starts in the middle of the story and "looks back" rather than starting at the beginning. So I went to one of the others I downloaded.
"From The Wreckage" by Michele G Miller is about a teenage girl from Tyler, TX. After the Friday night football game, a group of teens meet at the only real hangout in town. In a matter of moments, everything changes, everything she knew was gone. A tornado swept through the town, killing 45 people. This isn't a story about how they prepped for this eventuality or how they came together as a community. It is the story of one person, how suddenly life can change on Mother Nature's whim and how emotionally destructive a change like that can be.
We prepare with physical things: Guns, ammo, food, water, filters, fire starters, tents and camp stoves. We even think we are prepared mentally because we research and study and practice. We know what could happen and we think we are prepared for it. Some of us even hope for it to happen.
But can we ever really be emotionally prepared for the damage and the loss?
I recently suffered the loss of a relationship I thought would last the rest of my life. I've been a confused mess these last 2 months (in case none of you have noticed). I have disabilities and I have spent a lot of time asking myself what I have to offer, what makes me valuable, what makes my continued existence worthwhile.
Last week, I helped my youngest daughter, she's 27, divorced and mother of 2 of my grandchildren, to fill out her FAFSA and get her college application started so she can better herself. She wants to be an Xray Tech - a Radiographer.
When I was much younger, I took college classes here and there as my military spouse moved from base to base and in the last couple of years I have toyed with the idea of pulling as many of my credits as possible together to continue my own college degree. I kept defeating myself before I began by saying I was too old to start again.
But I'm going to do it. I am 51 years old. The Dr. tells me I'll be lucky to live another 3 years. It will take me 4 years to complete my degree so I guess I'll have to make a liar out of him, won't I?
My degree will be in Clinical Social Work but my focus will be in Grief Counseling, although I will never call myself a Grief Counselor. People don't generally think of going to a Grief Counselor when a relationship ends, when their child suffers a Traumatic Brain Injury that changes their entire personality or when a hurricane blows their house into the next county.
And on that note, I want to thank every one of you who has listened to me over the last 2 months. You have all been my Grief Counselors, helping me through this process of loss and rebuilding. You may think you are just words on a white screen, but to me, you are each individual personalities, giving, supportive, helpful and appreciated.
So why do I prep? Because things can happen in the blink of an eye and change your world forever. Knowing that the life essentials of water, food, defense and shelter are taken care of gives you breathing room to grieve and rebuild.
I do a lot of research online and am often downloading eBooks to my Kindle with titles like "52 Easy Steps to a Frugal New Life" and "Grandma's Herbal and Homemade Remedies," "Gun Safety Guide" and "How To Build A Greenhouse."
But I also have an obsession for Preparedness Fiction, Disaster Fiction, Apocalyptic Fiction and I have 100's of those downloaded to my Kindle, as well.
98% of what I download is free and it's a good thing, too, as I read around 100 Kindle pages a day.
Last night, I went searching for more free fiction downloads under the search words "Disaster Fiction." I found one book about England suffering from a freak electrical storm that completely destroys the country called "The Night The Lights Went Out" by John Eider. I was having a bit of difficulty getting into that one because it starts in the middle of the story and "looks back" rather than starting at the beginning. So I went to one of the others I downloaded.
"From The Wreckage" by Michele G Miller is about a teenage girl from Tyler, TX. After the Friday night football game, a group of teens meet at the only real hangout in town. In a matter of moments, everything changes, everything she knew was gone. A tornado swept through the town, killing 45 people. This isn't a story about how they prepped for this eventuality or how they came together as a community. It is the story of one person, how suddenly life can change on Mother Nature's whim and how emotionally destructive a change like that can be.
We prepare with physical things: Guns, ammo, food, water, filters, fire starters, tents and camp stoves. We even think we are prepared mentally because we research and study and practice. We know what could happen and we think we are prepared for it. Some of us even hope for it to happen.
But can we ever really be emotionally prepared for the damage and the loss?
I recently suffered the loss of a relationship I thought would last the rest of my life. I've been a confused mess these last 2 months (in case none of you have noticed). I have disabilities and I have spent a lot of time asking myself what I have to offer, what makes me valuable, what makes my continued existence worthwhile.
Last week, I helped my youngest daughter, she's 27, divorced and mother of 2 of my grandchildren, to fill out her FAFSA and get her college application started so she can better herself. She wants to be an Xray Tech - a Radiographer.
When I was much younger, I took college classes here and there as my military spouse moved from base to base and in the last couple of years I have toyed with the idea of pulling as many of my credits as possible together to continue my own college degree. I kept defeating myself before I began by saying I was too old to start again.
But I'm going to do it. I am 51 years old. The Dr. tells me I'll be lucky to live another 3 years. It will take me 4 years to complete my degree so I guess I'll have to make a liar out of him, won't I?
My degree will be in Clinical Social Work but my focus will be in Grief Counseling, although I will never call myself a Grief Counselor. People don't generally think of going to a Grief Counselor when a relationship ends, when their child suffers a Traumatic Brain Injury that changes their entire personality or when a hurricane blows their house into the next county.
And on that note, I want to thank every one of you who has listened to me over the last 2 months. You have all been my Grief Counselors, helping me through this process of loss and rebuilding. You may think you are just words on a white screen, but to me, you are each individual personalities, giving, supportive, helpful and appreciated.
So why do I prep? Because things can happen in the blink of an eye and change your world forever. Knowing that the life essentials of water, food, defense and shelter are taken care of gives you breathing room to grieve and rebuild.
