Even the Wind

On Good Friday, 2015, a tornado rips through the countryside toward Whetstone Boys Ranch, a therapeutic boarding school in the Missouri Ozarks. Five young men sleep quietly in their upstairs rooms while two night-staff monitor the approaching threat. At 12:30 a.m., all seven souls hustle to the basement, and minutes later the windows on two levels of the 10,000-square-foot facility explode at once. A piano grinds back and forth above their heads. The ceiling ripples like the surface of a pond. When it’s finally quiet, water begins leaking through the light fixtures. And then, faintly at first, comes the unmistakable odor of propane. They know they can’t stay where they are, but leaving seems impossible.

Even the Wind tells the inspirational true story of a community struggling to survive and overcome disaster. In the days, weeks, and months that follow, trauma takes its toll. But along with suffering and struggle comes transformation. A house is rebuilt. A home is restored. And all those tested by the storm—staff, boys, and families—learn lessons in relationship and resilience, which only a tempest can teach.