ABSTRACT
Wendy Kipple's narrative describes how she survived during her deployment over several weeks in the Hurricane Katrina disaster area in New Orleans, Louisiana, and demonstrates huge levels of resilience and the ability to move beyond the horror she encountered in such a disaster area. Wendy says she uses journaling as a form of spiritual practice and believes that journaling during the situation described in her narrative allowed her time to self-reflect on her day-to-day activities, centre herself, and prepare for the following days. Current research in the police community is finding that one of the primary ways officers attend to the high level of emotions is through self-reflection. Wendy's words express a certain level of excitement as she prepares to leave her position as a full-time police officer and respond to the devastation in New Orleans.
