Book Review: Superstorm Sandy: A Diary in the Dark by William Westhoven

 

It’s been three years since Superstorm Sandy

WRITTEN AS A FUND-RAISING VEHICLE, THE AUTHOR PLEDGES TO DONATE ALL PAID ROYALTIES FROM THIS BOOK TO THE NONPROFIT HURRICANE SANDY NEW JERSEY RELIEF FUND. Written and published within a month of the worst storm to ever hit the New Jersey-New York area, “Superstorm Sandy: A Diary in the Dark” is a first-person account of one New Jersey’s resident’s 12 days without power or heat in his North Jersey home. The author, William Westhoven, an award-winning New Jersey journalist and author, mixes personal drama and observations with fact-based reporting and a liberal dose of “you have to laugh or you’ll cry” humor. His quick work resulted in the first book to document the arrival of Superstorm Sandy and the immediate recovery period that followed.

Amazon Customer Review

   Fellow Survivor by Rachel1019

I was so happy to read his interpretation of events before, during, and after Sandy. There is something to be said for being ‘okay’ in the ‘new normal’ after Sandy. For some of us who were just left in the dark, whose six 100 year-old oaks chose to spare their owner’s home and the neighbors’ can relate their survival in the dark, dark days following Sandy. While my home survived; I almost didn’t survive my house guests or relatives with power complaining of no milk, bread, or gasoline. Read, laugh, relate, recover; it’s going to be a process, but William put it in to perspective for so many of us. The royalties are going to a good cause. Not from a state that survived a natural disaster? Read, learn, and prepare.

About the Author

A former mobile disc jockey, voiceover artist and Crazy Eddie store manager, William Westhoven was a full-time journalist from 1989 to 2011, when he fell victim to newspaper industry-wide layoffs. Since then, he has branched out to fiction, writing and publishing two complete novels. “One-Hit Willie,” a historical novel that covers 50 years of music in America, was released in December of 2011. “The Puddingstone Well,” a contemporary mystery-fantasy, was released on Oct. 26, three days before Superstorm Sandy hit the Jersey Shore. Westhoven began writing “Superstorm Sandy: A Diary in the Dark” three days after getting power back to his home on November 9, 2012. He spent the 12 days before that in his home without power or heat. Written and released within a month of Sandy’s departure, “Superstorm Sandy: A Diary in the Dark” is the first published book to document the devastating storm and its initial recovery period. The author pledges to donate all paid royalties from the sale of this book to the nonprofit Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund. During his newspaper career, Westhoven earned several national and state awards for writing, editing and page design. His theater column, Morris Stage, ran for nine years in the Daily Record and, as a performing-arts critic, he earned seven first-place awards for Critical Writing from the New Jersey Press Association. Westhoven’s first book, “Eric Clapton: Career of a Rock Legend,” was published in 1996. In between his book projects, he continues to work as a freelance journalist, with recent work appearing in several newspapers and Patch sites, the Huffington Post and Guitar World Online. For more information, visit www.onehitwillie.com.