Santa Barbara High School senior Hannah Hedrick, a 17-year-old survivor of the 2018 Montecito flash flooding and debris flows, has channeled her personal experience with natural disaster trauma into a mission of healing for other children.
Her newly published children’s book, Side by Side – Stronger We Stand, offers simple coping tools for young victims of the recent wildfires in Altadena and Pacific Palisades.
The timing proved especially poignant for the Hedrick family — the Jan. 7 Palisades Fire occurred the day before the seventh anniversary of the deadly Montecito disaster, and Hannah’s great-aunt and cousins lost their homes in the blaze.
While volunteering at a subsequent clothing drive for Los Angeles wildfire victims at All Saints By-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Montecito, Hannah was inspired to write a simple, rhyming story that gives children tangible skills for processing the overwhelming emotions that follow disasters.
“Through her book, Hannah hopes to remind young readers that even in life’s hardest moments, they can find strength, healing and hope,” said her mother, Candy Hedrick.
Hannah has donated more than 100 copies of Side by Side to schools and libraries in Los Angeles, Altadena and Malibu.
Hannah Hedrick with some of her fans. Credit: Candy Hedrick photo
She has conducted classroom readings at All Saints By-the-Sea Parish School, Montecito Union School, and throughout the Hope Elementary School District in Santa Barbara, directly reaching children affected by recent wildfires and floods.
Hannah recently read her book at Godmothers bookstore in Summerland, gifting copies to Pacific Palisades families in attendance.
Her work exemplifies “Tikkun Olam” — repairing the world one child, one story, one community at a time.
Click here for more information about Hannah’s project.