Author Chitra Divakaruni to Speak on 'Surviving Disaster and its Aftermath' Feb. 24 at 4 pm at the National Press Club

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Feb 22, 2010, 02:35 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Author Chitra Divakaruni will speak at a National Press Club Newsmakers press conference at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 24, in the Zenger Room, 13th floor, National Press Building, 529 14th St., N.W., Washington, D.C.

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As the recent Haiti earthquake demonstrated, disasters are a part of human existence. Divakaruni will speak on: How do we deal with them in an effective, humane and compassionate manner? How do we call upon grace under pressure? How do we survive the trauma they inflict upon us?

As a volunteer with Hurricane Katrina refugees in Houston in 2005 and as an evacuee herself as Hurricane Rita rushed toward Houston, she faced these questions firsthand, and in her latest novel, "One Amazing Thing," set in the aftermath of a major earthquake, she has written about what we can do to prepare ourselves psychologically and philosophically, should we ever face a catastrophe, and how to create a community out of disaster.

SOURCE National Press Club