Finalist for Best Book of 2017 by CLMP’s Firecracker Award Just your average New Jersey childhood? Not exactly. A circus tiger attack, a schoolmate’s abduction, heartbreaking addicts, and a few close encounters with the seedier sides of humanity. Scott Loring Sanders’ suburban adolescence overflowed with perils: bone-crushing water slides, hitchhiking serial killers, a chilling collision in a ’71 Impala. From his tough, complex father to Sanders’ own reckoning of fatherhood and alcohol after leaving the Garden State, Surviving Jersey is a tour-de-force exploration of the risks that shape America’s youth. Praise for SURVIVING JERSEY: “Scott Loring Sanders’ Surviving Jersey brings…perilous locations vividly to life in an absorbing amalgam of ravenous tigers, crazy coincidences, memorable characters, and human folly. A good read for anyone from New Jersey, or anyone seeking a few compelling reasons to steer clear.” —Dinty W. Moore, author of Between Panic & Desire “Exuberant, gritty, and laugh-out-loud funny.” —Matthew Vollmer, author of Permanent Exhibit “We realize by the time we close this wonderful book that we have been reading not only about fear and human mistakes and how to survive despite them…but also about the richness of life, its connections and joys —the very things that help us hold onto hope for the future.” —Arts Fuse “Sanders’ brutal honesty is a hallmark and strength of Surviving Jersey. The book also gives the reader hope: If Sanders can survive and thrive despite the difficulties he encountered…then we all can.” —The Roanoke Times “Surviving Jersey takes one of the most fundamental human endeavors, to survive the hazards of our world, and applies it to hardy characters, risky decisions, and life-altering events. Its magic goes beyond asking Where are we going? and reminds us to also wonder: How did we make it to here?” —Sweet: A Literary Confection

*Winner of four national awards for excellence in book publishing.*Superstorm Sandy was an epic storm, the greatest natural disaster in the Jersey Shore's recorded history. Throughout Southern Ocean County it disrupted lives and rearranged neighborhoods. It was a defining moment and, for many, a hard lesson about complacency, natural forces, and building castles on shifting sand.In this full-color book, readers experience the superstorm from its inception through the devastating impact of its tidal surge on the Long Beach Island area. And, like its survivors, you come away shaken but determined, with a new appreciation for the power of nature and the fragility of things we hold dear.This is the first book with a comprehensive narrative story of the storm -- not just photographs and captions. And although it focuses on the Long Beach Island community, that narrative also represents much of the experience of the entire Jersey Shore. Weather experts explore the incredible meteorology of Hurricane Sandy and its metamorphosis into a hybrid superstorm. Residents and first responders share their personal stories -- their fears, their bravery, their fortitude, and, ultimately, their acceptance.Because so few people actually remained on the front lines, these first-hand stories from inside the storm are an extraordinary look at landfall and human response. Each of us was affected by the tribulations our battered shore endured after landfall. And, in the end, the triumph of our spirit defines us all -- how we picked ourselves up, got to work on recovery, and generously helped others by lending a hand, donating, or offering a shoulder to cry on. The stories in Surviving Sandy help guide us to rebuild stronger -- and smarter.This softcover edition includes 256 color photographs from the height of the storm, the aftermath and the recovery; it includes a Foreword and Introduction from Great Storms of the Jersey Shore authors Margaret Thomas Buchholz and Larry Savadove.Winner of four national awards -- including a Gold Medal (Nature & Environment), and three Silver Medals (Political/Current Events; Cover Design; and Regional) -- in the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards.

Describes the cities, geography, plants and animals, history, people, and famous places in New Jersey.