LocalLit book spotlight: ‘With Only Seconds to Spare’

Just about anyone who lived in the Will County area when the 1990 tornado Plainfield hit has a story about the event.

Many people can recount what they were doing. I know I can. I was expecting my fourth child and was supposed to be on bedrest in the afternoon due to pregnancy-induced high blood pressure.

But I dawdled a bit, taking advantage of the other three kids behaving to clean out the refrigerator. My last act was to send my 8-year-old out with the garbage. But at the back door, he called to me.

“The sky looks funny,” he said.

My alarm antenna went up and I hurried to the door. The sky, indeed, looked funny. I made him drop the bag, and I hustled everyone to hallway (we had no basement).

And then storm hit.

Our house stood. Others did not. Through the years, many people have shared their stories of survival.

So I’m intensely interested in reading the 27-page book “With Only Seconds to Spare: How one family survived the 1990 Plainfield Tornado” by Melissa Antink. It’s free with Kindle Unlimited it, and I’ve already downloaded it.

Here is its Amazon description: “One family’s story of survival when a devastating tornado hit their town and their home. Mysteriously, none of them know who told them it was a tornado and they needed to take cover. Was it a guardian angel?”

Know more about LocalLit

Each week LocalLit will deliver an original short and family-friendly story (or a book review) by a local author to the newsletter’s subscribers.

Authors with a connection to our readership area may submit. Submission does not guarantee acceptance.

Contact Denise M. Baran-Unland at 815-280-4122 or dunland@shawmedia.com.