When there is natural or human-made adversity from events such as hurricanes, pandemic-level illness, earthquakes, war, gun violence, or economic downturn, the media inevitably show people reacting to the devastation around them. Often these events are taking place far away from us, and at other times the shocked, emotional, and weary people are nearby and may include our own family or friends.

As I write this, thousands of people in the Los Angeles area of Southern California are in the midst of horrific wildfires that have leveled communities. This time the disaster hits close to home for me. Some of the numb people reflecting on their experiences are friends who have lost their homes, businesses, and community.

When I started this blog, I named it “Communication Matters." My central theme has been to focus on how close relationships are literally talked into (and out of) being. This means that close relationships are both created and altered as we interact with people in our lives (Baxter, 2014; Braithwaite & Suter, 2022). Understanding this function of communication is especially important in times of stress and unwanted change. In difficult times, we long for the resilience that grows in our personal and family relationships.

My friend Michael Sedano, one of the founders of La Bloga (the oldest Chicana, Chicano, Latina, Latino literary blog) moved into his daughter’s home in the LA area two years ago, following the death of his wife of 54 years from Alzheimer’s Dementia. His daughter’s home and urban farm burned down in the terrible wildfire. Michael writes about their experiences:

"It all burned down, the house I moved into with my daughter and granddaughter two years ago… and despite my numbed devastation, I found new hope in my daughter's dream house. The fire knocked me down after I'd finally gotten back on my feet. My daughter and granddaughter are Sedano Women. This means they're strong, smart, and indomitable. We shall rise again."

In addition to the pain and sadness, Michael’s message highlights resilience. Rather than a personal or family-level quality, resilience (according to communication scholar Patrice Buzzanell (2010)) is a process found in Richardson’s definition: “the process of reintegrating from........

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