When the Water Came: Evacuees of Hurricane Katrina gathers the intimate recollections of eleven Louisiana and Mississippi residents and the unforgettable details of their lives during and after Hurricane Katrina. Their words, transformed by the poet's hand, are heartbreaking but ultimately inspiring stories of the human condition. Powerful black-and-white photographs of the participants and their surroundings create a lyrical conversation. Poet Cynthia Hogue and photographer Rebecca Ross convey the experience of a cross section of evacuees, their journeys from the Gulf Coast to the Arizona desert, and their efforts to make new lives. Through this combination of words and images, When the Water Came weaves a distinct narrative of Katrina and its aftermath. This book, an accounting of changed lives told in precise detail, allows us to see how the human spirit confronts and transcends trauma