Co-author Ariana Harner sought to give survivors voice in their own story | An Interview with THE COLORADO SUN

“Children of the Storm” revisits a 1931 Colorado tragedy whose narrative at the time reflected agendas of everyone but those who lived it

SunLit: Tell us this book’s backstory. What inspired you to write it? Where did the story/theme originate?

Ariana Harner: Clark Secrest and I both worked in the Publications department at the Colorado Historical Society, since renamed History Colorado. In the mid-90s, Clark interviewed two survivors of the 1931 Pleasant Hill school bus tragedy, in which the vehicle became stranded in a massive snowstorm, for a “Colorado Heritage” magazine article.  

The article revealed a need for a comprehensive narrative, so we decided to partner on that. In 1998, I had the time to take on the research and writing and Clark was willing to guide the project. 

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