A St. Bernard man has released a children’s book to commemorate Hurricane Katrina 20 years later.
George Goggans Jr., a Chalmette High School teacher and author, released his book titled “Katrina and the Cajun Duck.”
Goggans uses historical fiction to tell a story of faith and survival through the eyes of a 12-year-old boy named Sean Battiste.
“At the end it says if you truly believe and have faith and listen to the old stories you’ll get all the love and comfort that you need,” Goggans said.
The book, narrated by the now 32-year-old Sean Battiste, recounts his family’s journey through the devastating storm, anchored by a fictional Cajun duck that helped carry them to safety.
Goggans aims to provide children worldwide with hope and something to believe in during times of crisis.
“Finally I came up with a good story that will give kids hope and something to look forward to, something to believe in whenever they are in times of crisis,” Goggans said.
“Katrina and the Cajun Duck” is the first edition in Goggans’ series, “The Legend of the Cajun Duck,” published to honor the resilience shown by his students during the aftermath of the hurricane.
“I saw the trauma that those kids went through as you can imagine in the Lower Ninth and St. Bernard Parish. It was really terrible,” Goggans said.
Having lived in New Orleans since 1986, Goggans and his family fled to Pensacola during the storm.
When they came back, he found his Bienville home unsalvageable, with personal keepsakes destroyed.
He said his faith, much like his students’, was forever changed.
“They tried to act like everything was okay I guess. That’s the same thing the adults did but you knew that they had been through a traumatic experience,” Goggans said.
Goggans hopes his tale, inspired by the spirit of New Orleans, will serve as a lasting blueprint for its readers.
“I saw a stranger shedding tears of joy and hugging each other and I saw a friend shaking hands and saying how do you do, it was like they were really saying I love you,” Goggans said.
READ MORE:“Katrina and the Cajun Duck” tells story of Katrina 20 years later through a child’s eyes
