Come Into the Water by Merlyn Janet Magner

Come Into the Water: A Survivor's Story is a very quick read about the flooding of Rapid City in 1972. As a book about a bit of local history and a commentary on surviving such a horrific natural disaster, this book is very interesting. My heart went out to the young girl who suffered through such a traumatic event and survived. My biggest question throughout was "Why didn't someone help her deal with it all?" It's very obvious throughout that Ms Magner carried the effects of the flood and her losses throughout her life. It seemed to me that had there been some kind of support system for her at the time, it might not have taken most of the rest of her life to come to terms with these events. I hope that in some way, this book has been a cathartic and cleansing tool for her to find the peace she needs.
As a story, I would have preferred more direct information about the flood with Ms. Magner's events woven into it. The letter from the former Mayor of Rapid City helped to understand just how much the flood affected the community. Would I recommend this book? I'm not sure. If you have an interest in surviving natural disasters, then yes, this would be a book for you.