This book's stories and images invite readers to honor and learn from those lost in tragic tsunami events. Each person has a history, an account of things said and done, and preserving these stories helps people to understand the past and make thoughtful decisions for the future. Many people believe that there is good in everything that happens; even tragedies can have positive outcomes. This is certainly true for Hilo, which has been shaped physically, culturally, and economically by the tsunamis of 1946 and 1960. In the waves' wake, lives and livelihoods were lost. Hilo would reel from the catastrophes, but the spirit of resilience would shine through, and Hilo would emerge not unscathed, but not undone. Strength and compassion emerge from the stories of fate in how people responded to one another and how they rebuilt.
Barbara Muffler has worked in undersea research and conservation data management and is currently the archivist/curator/speaker for the Pacific Tsunami Museum. The museum archive has a treasure of images and stories, which she has woven together here. The museum's mission, in concert with the book, is tsunami awareness, because it is not if but when the next one will hit.