The Irma Diaries transposes readers to The Virgin Islands on September 6, 2017 and into the shoes of islanders on the frontlines of climate change. Photo: Provided

Angela Burnett is a climate change specialist who was born and raised in The Virgin Islands and experienced Irma herself. Photo: Provided

The Irma Diaries transposes readers to The Virgin Islands on September 6, 2017 and into the shoes of islanders on the frontlines of climate change. Beyond the news headlines and apocalyptic images, The Irma Diaries takes readers straight into the heart of a Category 5 plus hurricane, the strongest to ever make landfall in Atlantic history. In a very intimate, personal style the book captures the harrowing yet amazing, inspiring, and at times amusing accounts of over 20 ordinary turned extraordinary people who battled through Hurricane Irma, minute by minute, and came out alive.

Angela Burnett is a climate change specialist who was born and raised in The Virgin Islands and experienced Irma herself. The Irma Diaries was written to stir global attention and action on climate change, to help rebuild the lives of those impacted by Hurricane Irma and to help The Virgin Islands adapt to continuing climate change impacts. As such, 1 percent of book proceeds will be donated to each of the 20 plus contributors of survivor stories and 25 percent of proceeds to The Virgin Islands Climate Change Trust Fund in perpetuity.

The UN Climate Change Conference was attended by thousands of delegates from around the world and included several side events in addition to the formal negotiations. The official soft launch for The Irma Diaries was held on the afternoon of Tuesday November 14, 2017 on the heels of a high level briefing for CARICOM delegates. Several Caribbean ministers, country negotiators and representatives from regional organisations were among those in the audience. The launch, which included a reading by the author of one of the survivor stories entitled Gunpoint, was co-hosted by the Organistion of Eastern Caribbean States Commission and the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre. In addition to the formal soft launch The Irma Diaries was announced at 4 side events throughout the week and was promoted at a booth in the conference exhibition area. Promotional material for The Irma Diaries at the launch was in main part sponsored by the regional iLand Resilience climate change project (www.ilandresilience.org).

The Irma Diaries will initially be available for sale as an electronic publication through Kindle and other online formats and will be released on December 11, 2017. A local launch is planned around the release date. In the interim, more information about The Irma Diaries, including sneak peeks, an interactive story map, video trailers, an Irma photo gallery and more is available at www.TheIrmaDiaries.com.