Weathering Storms with Words and Images: From the Holler to the Sea (An Anthology)

Having just weathered a winter storm—and knowing that we all are weathering storms within the cruel conditions of ICE and ice, of empire and climate crises—I want to share a local publication from the fall, from the one-year anniversary of Helene, a storm that shapes my understanding of storms to come.

From the Holler to the Sea

I am grateful to Rednecks Rising and Dandelion Scribes and editors Cheyanne Leonardo and Chelsea White-Hoglen for assembling the collection From the Holler to the Sea: An Anthology of Words and Images by Survivors of Hurricane Helene. And I am grateful to have two pieces included: “In Gratitude” and “Here, There? Where Do I Put My Energy?”

The first poem, “In Gratitude,” is a reprint from the online publication. The second, “Here, There? Where Do I Put My Energy?” is a new poem, picking up on feminist principles that guide everyday living and striving for justice: both/and, public outcry, and try-try again.

The collection, From the Holler to the Sea: An Anthology of Words and Images by Survivors of Hurricane Helene, is being sold as a fundraiser—so purchase a copy to support mutual aid in WNC and throughout Appalachia. The book’s blurb centers interconnectedness amidst catastrophe:

“From the Holler to the Sea offers a blueprint of survival for those who will be affected by catastrophe in the era that is upon us. The contents of its pages are a testament to the abundance that is possible when we reconnect with ourselves, each other, the land, and our unshakable desire to bring healing and liberation to our Earthly home.”

The book’s title expresses the desire to stand in solidarity with Palestinians facing racial apartheid and genocide, committing to resistance and striving toward liberation, across locations, both/and. To act in solidarity is to recognize differential power, positioning, and risk. Or, from the teachings of Sara Ahmed: “Solidarity involves commitment, and work, as well as the recognition that even if we do not have the same feelings, or the same lives, or the same bodies, we do live on common ground.” (The Cultural Politics of Emotion, page 189).

My second poem attempts to embody and echo this everyday need for committed solidarity, which involves public outcry, repeating:

Crying out to end genocide.
Crying out to end
Crying out
Crying

Weathering Storms, Life After Helene

Along with sharing this publication, I want to share active + actionable hope that we’ll keep lengthening down roots and widening out relations to weather the storms ahead. Because how much we need each other to survive — this storm and the next and the next.

Truly, there’s so much to attend to these days and so much keeps asking us to show up and s-t-r-e-t-c-h wider. I know I’m not alone in attempting to grieve losses and provide care intimately to family members, while also wanting to show up more for community, for collective resistance and liberation. How the personal and collective are so entwined!

So much has been happened since Helene with ever-escalating fascism, violence, and everyday threats—from loved ones losing jobs to others unable to travel and still others fearing and fighting ICE. Days involve figuring out how to live out commitments amid current-time apocalypse and the daily gut-punches of incredible injustice. There’s so much to name: from the U.S. government kidnapping and trafficking people to the same government continuing to fund and greenlight the genocide in Gaza. From the heat weaves and ice storms evidencing climate crises to gun violence, sexual violence, cultural violence, political violence, interpersonal violence … and so much more! The call to stand in solidarity reverberates, so we keep asking: How will we weather this storm? and the next? and the next?

We get by with, for, and because of each other. One of the reasons I am so happy to be included in From the Holler to the Sea: An Anthology of Words and Images by Survivors of Hurricane Helene is because it’s a collaborative, community-rooted project:

many voices rising together
rooting down and branching out
sharing words and images of survival.

May this anthology of words and images inspire actionable commitment, and may we commit more to surviving together, here with and for each other.

Publication Citation:
“In Gratitude” and “Here, There? Where Do I Put My Energy?” From the Holler to the Sea: An Anthology of Words and Images by Survivors of Hurricane Helene, edited by Rednecks Rising, 2025, pp. 95-101. Purchase a copy to support mutual aid in WNC and throughout Appalachia.

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This post is written by Beth Godbee, Ph.D. (she/her) for Heart-Head-Hands: Everyday Living for Justice. Subscribe to the email newsletter for regular updates, including for upcoming writing groups, retreats, and coaching.

And you might be interested in these related blog posts:

• “Deep Gratitude Following Helene and Support for These Times”
• “Update from (Outside) Asheville: Next Steps after Hurricane Helene”
• “Countering Resistance Fatigue with a Both/And Approach”
• “Honoring Struggles and Showing Up Imperfectly for Palestinian Liberation”
• “It’s Valentine’s Day, and I’m Again Writing with Heartache”