The Gulf Coast villages of Bayou La Batre and Coden are two of Alabama’s most distinctive, with roots going back to the French settlements of the 18th century. For generations, the proud inhabitants of these communities have extracted their modest livings from the sea, sustained by a lesson handed down over time— that providing for the needs of one’s family is the only true measure of success. But the world has changed drastically for them. A global economy of higher gas prices and cheap imported seafood has threatened the lifeblood of the area. And in recent years a rash of hurricanes, culminating with Hurricane Katrina, has battered the hopes and dreams of these Bayou towns.

 

But they have known hard times and massive changes before. In the 1970s, refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos flooded into the area and within a few years made up a third of the local population. Three Buddhist temples soon took their places among the Catholic, Baptist, and Pentecostal churches that predominated, and for a time the different ethnic groups coexisted in a kind of uneasy peace. But now they are learning to pull together in an uncertain struggle to rebuild their communities.

 

In the Path of the Storms is a powerful portrait in words and photographs of a unique and unforgettable place. It is a story of tradition, and forces of change, and the epic struggle of these Gulf Coast communities to survive and thrive.

Frye Gaillard is writer-in-residence at the University of South Alabama and the author of Cradle of Freedom: Alabama and the Movement that Changed America.  

Sheila Hagler and Peggy Denniston are artists-in-residence with the Mobile County Public Schools.

"Frye Gaillard, Sheila Hagler, and Peggy Denniston—using a powerful combination of words and photographs—have captured the heroism and struggle of these Gulf Coast communities. This is a deeply moving story."
—Robert Inman, author of Home Fires Burning

"This is a vivid and touching tribute to a community caught between a reeling economy and a devastated landscape. Frye Gaillard puts his ear to the ground and listens to individual and collective stories about how Bayou La Batre—once a thriving, multi-cultural fishing village—emerged from past hardships and, after Katrina, prepares for an uncertain future. His portrait, enriched by Sheila Hagler's superb photographs and those of Peggy Denniston's students, documents the intimate struggle and resilience of the Bayou's citizens as they search for the next incarnation of their town's story."

—Patricia Foster, author of All the Lost Girls