I grew up in a house where duct tape was considered a love language and the pantry had more batteries than cereal boxes. My dad, Kyle Harrison, is what you’d call a lifelong prepper. He’s got shelves of MREs, a solar-powered radio that could survive the apocalypse, and a handwritten inventory of every flashlight in the house sorted by lumens and location. He lives in Missouri with my mom, Darlene, who has the patience of a saint and can make a mean skillet cornbread over an open flame. Every Monday, without fail, my dad sends out his newsletter The Preparedness Post, full of tips, DIY hacks, survival recipes, and whatever challenge he’s cooked up for the week. It’s kind of like a Boy Scouts badge system, except with more beans and fewer merit sashes.

Somewhere along the way, I went from eye-rolling teenager to homeschooling mom with my own stash of freeze-dried strawberries and a fully laminated emergency evacuation plan hanging in our mudroom. My name is Wendy Hawthorne. I live in eastern Oregon, east of the Cascades, with my husband Steve, our two kids Luke and Charlotte, and our black lab Jasper, who is one good treat away from actually learning how to unzip a tent. Steve’s a contractor who loves his power tools almost as much as he loves using them to build me new shelves for my canned goods. I run the household, homeschool the kids, write a weekly article called Wendy’s Corner in my dad’s newsletter, and have somehow become the go-to mom in our neighborhood for what to do when the power goes out and the cell service disappears.

This book is not about fear. It’s about preparation, family, and turning what could be stressful situations into opportunities to teach, laugh, and build confidence. If you’ve ever tried to explain to a seven-year-old why we have a go-bag packed with granola bars, headlamps, and socks, then you’re in the right place. If you haven’t, don’t worry. We’re going to cover all of that.

Think of this book like one of those family camping trips that starts with a map, ends with someone sleeping in a hammock in the car, and somewhere in the middle, everyone learns something important without even realizing it. Whether you’re a seasoned prepper or just trying to figure out what to do with the extra rice you panic-bought three months ago, this is for you. I’ll share what’s worked for our family, what definitely didn’t, and all the little things that make prepping less about doom and gloom and more about doing things together that actually make you feel good.

Also, I promise not to make you build your own water filter out of a garden hose and a coffee filter. Unless you really want to.