Bayou Farewell:

The Rich Life and Tragic Death of Louisiana’s Cajun Coast
June 27, 2008 at 1:13 p.m.
Bayou Farewell:
Bayou Farewell:
By Jill Williams

This book is an account of the author's travels through Louisiana's Cajun Coast, and up into the bayou. Sometimes hitchhiking on the river, sometimes shrimping or crabbing, and even touring the vast area from the air, the author explores the region that is being devastated and seriously needs help. The author explains the Louisiana Bayou is a wetland worthy of protection and measures to rebuild it. The land is being washed away at an alarming rate. The author explains how this area is designed to slow hurricanes and absorb floodwaters from washing away cities. The barrier islands created just into the Gulf help protect from hurricanes as well. But they, too, are disappearing. The author's predictions of storms devastating cities seems prophetic, seeing as that's exactly what happened to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in Hurricane Katrina in 2005. (In fact, Katrina transformed over 200 square miles of barrier islands to water.)

At the time the book was written, though, nobody was looking at the effects of a possible super storm. Nobody was looking at what the Bayou was losing. Nobody was looking at what needed to be done to preserve the area; to protect it from sinking into the Gulf. The author quotes conservationist and marine biologist Kerry St. Pé "There's a reason they're called 'barrier' islands. This is the first line of defense against hurricanes. Without these islands, a hurricane's storm surge will slam right into the coast unchecked. Then it'll meet the remains of our shrinking marshes, facing little resistance. Then it's straight into the population centers. The next time a direct-hit hurricane comes, I'm afraid it might be really, really ugly." (p. 121) How prophetic that would turn out to be!

This book is more than just an examination of the situation in the Bayou. It's a trip down the Bayou in various communities of people whose way of life stems from the shrimping and crabbing seasons. They work hard and have all of their lives. Their fathers and grandfathers shrimped, they shrimp, and their children will shrimp. But the land is sinking, the shrimp aren't as plentiful as they once were, a family must supplement their income in order to survive. The author works with families, lives with them, travels with them and gets their view of what's happening to the Cajun Coast.

Mike Tidwell is founder and director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in Maryland, Virginia, and DC. His newest book, focusing on Katrina and global warming, is titled The Ravaging Tide: Strange Weather, Future Katrinas, and the Coming Death of America's Coastal Cities. He lives in Maryland with his nine-year-old son Sasha.

Jill does laundry for a 7 year old who thinks he's too old for toys, a 5 year old gymnast, a 5 year old niece who has joined the family, and a 3 year old computer whiz. She also occasionally irons her husband's suits. In between loads, Jill loves to read.