"The emergence of her new life as a gay woman is the titular “hurricane.”...An engaging and sometimes-painful recollection of the trials of self-acceptance." —Kirkus Reviews

“Hurricane Lessons—much like a storm itself—is a stunning, heartbreaking, and ultimately redemptive memoir, alchemizing pain into light. This is a book of cell rearranging prose—a story many will find they’ve been waiting to read. The power of Willis’s voice will keep readers turning the page, as the music, the poetry, and the pulse of the narrative gains steam like a storm surge and lifts off the page. Willis is an important new voice in American memoir.” —Alice Anderson, Author of Some Bright Morning I’ll Fly Away

“With language as tender as it is unflinching, Hurricane Lessons traces the quiet ache of a life lived in shadow and the luminous, hard-won joy of stepping into the light. It is a profound reckoning with truth, time, and the courage it takes to rewrite one’s story after years of silence. This memoir reminds us that authenticity isn’t a single moment, but a lifelong unfolding. A necessary and deeply human work.” —Rachel Macy Stafford, New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and certified special education teacher

"This beautifully written book starts with a total loss of self, but builds toward the emboldened reclamation of sexuality, desire, and raw courage that it takes to be a woman in America today. A knockout of a memoir; a tempest of a life."—Courtney Maum, “The Year of the Horses: A memoir"

"There is no expiration on your truth, and Hurricane Lessons is a stunning, honest, and raw recounting of one woman’s brave fight to finally honor who she truly is. If you’re thinking it’s too late, it isn’t. This beautiful story is proof."—Julie Barton New York Times Bestselling author of Dog Medicine, How My Dog Saved Me From Myself

"Katrina isn’t the hurricane in this story. The truth is. Sometimes the weather inside a life is so beautiful you don’t notice the pressure of it, slowly squeezing the breath from you. Hurricane Lessons is a clear-eyed, compassionate memoir about coming out later in life and learning how to live inside a truth powerful enough to change everything. —Matt Bays, author of How to Find and Keep a Gay Man

"For any woman who has ever tried to live up to society’s expectations, or her family’s, for any woman who has tried to be the best possible wife, mother , friend, daughter, sister — but found the only way to do it was to put herself last on the list — Hurricane Lessons will blow through you like a storm, or leave you nodding because you’ve already had your house blown down. A beautiful, honest, sometimes messy story of betrayal and reclamation, you’ll be rooting for Katrina Willis every step of the way."—Ally Hamilton, author of Open Randomly, and Yoga's Healing Power: Looking Inward for Change, Growth and Peace

"While Hurricane Lessons is about the painful betrayals in a crumbling marriage, Katrina Anne Willis also brings to the surface the insidious and devastating soul damage of conditioned self betrayal. Her ability to write so beautifully and succinctly about the harm perpetuated on her personhood by patriarchal, societal norms is an absolute masterclass. Katrina’s arduous, painful climb out of who she was told to be, and into the woman she was born to be is triumphant and tear-inducingly brave. No one’s life should be made this difficult by a choice to love. Katrina’s raw honesty in this incredible memoir was a reminder for me to keep fighting for the rights and freedoms of the LGBTQIA community like all our lives depend on it. Because they do." —Kate Mapother, Author of the forthcoming novel Book of Grace and a two poetry collections, Tell Me You Hear the Riot and Carved

• LGBTQIA+-friendly tour focused on seven cities: Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Indianapolis and Lexington
• Author essays
• Trade Show Appearances
• Trade Reviews
• AWP featured author