Falling to Earth FIC Sou

I really liked this book.  I got goosebumps from the beginning because a tornado comes out of no where and some of the victims were children who were caught in the school and died when walls collapsed.  Ripped from the headlines?  We did read those headlines last month  but the tornado in this story was also in the headlines.  It was back in the 1920's and was referred to as the Tri-State tornado. It was also the most deadly one in history.  About 700 were killed and thousands were injured.  This is the story of Paul Graves.  He owns the local lumber mill in Marah, Illinois. (The tornado and damage are based on what happened in Murphysboro, Illinois.)  When the tornado hits he is at work and saves himself by hanging on to a pole.  His wife, two young children and his mother have just enough time to run to the storm shelter that Paul had built (even though he was laughed at by many).  It wouldn't have made any difference if they had stayed in the house - because their house was spared, as was Paul's business.  Their neighbor's house was turned around and the new baby was ripped out of its mother's arms and never found.  You would think that Paul and his family were really lucky.  And they were........they were the ones who had lost nothing.  And they were also really unlucky......they were the ones who had lost nothing.  This book tells the story of the year following the storm.  It is a study of survivor's guilt and human nature.  Not your run-of-the-mill fiction book.  Check it out!