It has taken eleven long months for us to steady ourselves enough to begin sharing our stories. In the earliest days, the work was simply survival, clearing paths, restoring power and water, finding ways to hold one another up. Only now, with space to breathe, can we look back and begin to give words to what we lived through.
My First Walk Through the Aftermath
I remember that first walk. Having to leave my vehicle behind as I viewed the maze of trees in front of me. I made my way on foot onto OM Sanctuary’s campus. Winding through the downed trees, I felt like a child in a jungle gym, climbing, ducking, and weaving while trying to take in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Gates were bent and mangled. Utility lines dangled loose, dangerously; I remembered hearing how a biker had lost his life on a live wire not far from here. Trees lay across the paths in every direction. Where lamp posts and safety railings once stood, now only twisted metal played hide and seek among the branches and splintered trunks. Everything seemed warped by the storm’s fury and what officials now call a “once-in-a-lifetime” event.
The Fallen Red Oak: Centuries of Beauty
And then I saw her. Our beloved Red Oak tree.
She has stood here for centuries, her roots sunk deep into the hillside above the French Broad River. Her moving limbs whispered in the breeze to those who passed beneath her, offered shade to the visitors, homes to critters, and carried the songs of countless birds in her branches. But when Hurricane Helene came, she laid her bones, the body of her trunk and limbs to rest.
I wept for her as I stood there even though it was four of our cottages had helped cushion her fall, even as her weight tore through their roofs and porches.
Whispers of an Ancient Voice
As I stood there I imagined her voice:
“I have stood here longer than you can measure in calendars. My roots have tasted flood and drought, my branches have stretched toward countless dawns. I have watched laughter ripple across your gatherings, prayers whispered at dusk, and offered a place for individuals leaning against my trunk for comfort.
When Helene came, she ripped through me without pause. My arms attempting to be flexible waving in her winds broke, my crown shattered, and I fell. From the distant I heard thunderous cries from OM Sanctuary’s forest as other trees hit the ground. For me, four of your cottages caught part of my descent, cradling me as I gave way. I apologize for the damage I left in my wake.”
Lessons in Resilience
Even in her end, I know as we bring her to her new resting place that she will over time feed the soil, shelter small creatures, and give rise to saplings that will reach toward the same sky.
I am letting this be a reminder to us all that resilience does not mean standing forever unchanged. It means being flexible and giving back even in loss. It means knowing the roots in our lives can still run deep, even when our personal or internal branches appear broken.
A Call for Renewal
Nearly a year after Hurricane Helene, we are finally stepping out of triage and into a new phase of recovery. We are still repairing, still listening, and still restoring alongside the forest and the broader Western Carolina community. Now, we are ready to invite you into our next chapter.
OM Sanctuary’s forest is beginning to receive help, and our grounds are starting to feel more cared for. After months of permit delays, the Renewal Center Expansion for the outdoor mineral baths has finally been approved. Our cottages have been restored, and while there is still work to do, we can now welcome weekend guests who are seeking a quiet sanctuary to rest their body, mind, and spirit. Full programming will resume in spring 2026, but in the meantime, the our Three bedroom Cabins and Woodland Cottages are open!
Every forest holds a story; ours walks alongside it, guiding us to pause, listen, and care. We will forever allow the Red Oak to teach us how to endure, let go, how to give back, and how to rise again, letting the tendrils of life take hold once more.
Shelli Stanback, OM Sanctuary
CEO and Founder
