1 Dead in Attic - Chris Rose

Chris Rose is a columnist for the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper. After evacuating his family from the city to avoid Hurricane Katrina, he was one of the first to return and witness the devastation up close and personal. The book, 1 Dead in Attic, is a collection of columns he wrote during the first year of the "recovery."

If New Orleans is in any way important to you, you need to read this book. I have talked to a lot of people who have lived this experience, but no one has put it all out there to see like Rose. At times funny and at times down right scary, his columns bring to life the day to day struggle that was living in New Orleans after the flood. Rose's house was not flooded and his Uptown neighborhood made out a lot better than most, but the pain of seeing so many places you know and love washed away and the rest of the city struggle to find its footing takes its toll on him. In fact, I got the feeling along the way that Rose was starting to lose it. His writing became very angry and he was clearly frustrated that progress was not being made, and in fact the city seemed to be going backwards in many ways: with half the population traffic was worse and crime was up. As time goes on, he struggles with how to communicate what is happening to the outside world. On the one hand the Garden District and the French Quarter are open and he wants tourists to come. This New Orleans is doing fine. On the other hand large parts of the city are not getting any help, insurance checks are not forthcoming, and people are not coming home. The city is schizophrenic and it's not funny. Cases of PTSD and other mental illnesses, as well as suicides are going through the roof, and there are not enough mental health workers, so people are self medicating. Finally Rose admits he too has seen too much and is suffering from severe depression. He started to get the hint when he realized all he did was sit and stare out the window. He didn't talk to his wife, he didn't interact with his kids and he didn't want to go to a job he loved. After some therapy and medication he wrote an amazing column admitting his problems. His admission made him the poster boy for mental distress in New Orleans and earned him a guest appearance on Oprah, where he was explicitly told not to mention this book (Oprah had not read it and did not want to endorse it - this lead to a great column: As Not Seen on Oprah).

Rose is still writing for the Times-Picayune, but like New Orleans, he continues to have some major issues. In the new foreword he tells of his divorce and an addiction to prescription pills. Clearly it's going to be a long road back.