If you’ve ever been moved to tears by a stranger’s small act of kindness—a cold bottle of water, a hot meal in the middle of chaos—this story will speak to your soul.

If you haven’t, it may still touch your heart.

This is a story of Davids among Goliaths—of small cities that never made the headlines, despite devastation surpassing that of their better-known neighbors.

It’s the chronicle of Slidell, the Louisiana city hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina, and it will likely resonate with any small city struggling after a natural disaster.