Mining a well-known biblical timeline, Emma Churchman, master of divinity and trauma chaplain, has titled her book The Deep End of Hope in the Wake of Hurricane Helene: 40 Days and Nights of Survival and Transformation. A launch and forum event will be held Saturday, Feb. 1, at the Gerton Fire Station, 4975 Gerton Highway in Gerton, a small Henderson County community between Fairview and Bat Cave. “Since Day 1, the station functioned as the gathering point for our Gerton community,” Churchman explains. When Helene hit Western North Carolina in September, the author and her husband, Jeff, were trapped for several days atop a mountain with no means of communication. Bushwhacking 3 miles to descend, they discovered the true devastation in Gerton, their rural hamlet of 301 people. In her post-storm memoir, Churchman chronicles her role as a trauma chaplain for her community and the heartache and heroism of residents. Speakers at the launch event will include former state Rep. and Fairview resident John Ager and his son, N.C. Rep. Eric Ager, along with Kevin King, executive director of Mennonite Disaster Service, and Pamela Prince-Eason, president and CEO of Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. The free event begins at 2 p.m. Books will be for sale on-site from Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café with a portion of sales benefiting Mennonite Disaster Service. avl.mx/eh3
Smart Bets: The Deep End of Hope
![Emma Churchman](https://mountainx.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Emma-Churchman--1100x732.jpeg)
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