Blown Away: Tornado in a Small Town

Blown Away by Richard H. McHugh gives voice to a terrifying and tragic tornado that happened in Shelburn, Indiana sixty years ago. Beautifully written and excitingly told, Blown Away offers a you-are-there look at the before, during, and after events of this tragedy. From the lead up to the tornado to the actual disaster to the deadly aftereffects, Blown Away is told in the voices of the people who lived it. A woman describes how her arms were broken because she held her child so tightly. A family watches their tree being jerked up from its roots. All of the stories are exciting, horrifying, and immediate. McHugh relates his experiences as a young ambulance driver at the time, and he shows both the devastation he witnesses and how his community pulls together courageously and with great compassion. The citizens rebuild the town and their lives, but they never forget the tornado—and neither will readers. Filled with photographs and quotations from residents who survived the storm, Blown Away is a wonderful historical document and a fabulous read. Thrilling, enthralling, and beautifully written, Blown Away will blow you away with its authenticity.