On January 9, 2023, our apartment flooded. It happened in a matter of seconds. We looked through the sliding-glass door. The pooling water rose above the porch—and just that quickly, it was coming in through the slider. In a matter of minutes, the water was coming in through the kitchen and bathroom walls, rising above our ankles. We grabbed our computers and thumb drives, medicines, important papers. Water was flowing in through the back of our apartment and out through our front door. Furniture, papers, clothing, bedding, books, artwork, irreplaceable mementos—lost or damaged. We, my wife Jill and I, are writers. Our papers and our books are at the center of our lives and our professions.

We had lived in the apartment for going on six years. It was a rent-controlled apartment, and it was by now at least $500 under current market value. We have been forced back into the market with no way to get the same amount of space for the same amount of money. We are actively looking for a new place and looking at all options.

We started this page to humbly ask for help with all of the expenses associated with starting a new home from scratch, the things you might take for granted, like a bed, a couch, living room chairs, and appliances, and the little things you may not remember to think of. We estimate our total needs at $15,000.

Anything will help. Thank you for your generosity.