Bayou Farewell: The Rich Life and Tragic Death of Louisiana's Cajun Coast

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Bayou Farewell: The Rich Life and Tragic Death of Louisiana's Cajun Coast

4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 · rating details · 330 ratings · 60 reviews

The Cajun coast of Louisiana is home to a way of life as unique, complex, and beautiful as the terrain itself. As award-winning travel writer Mike Tidwell journeys through the bayou, he introduces us to the food and the language, the shrimp fisherman, the Houma Indians, and the rich cultural history that makes it unlike any other place in the world. But seeing the skeleton...more

Paperback, 384 pages

Published March 9th 2004 by Vintage (first published 2003)

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Dec 22, 2007 April rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the best non fiction books I've read. Tidwell does an excellent job of describing a very complex environmental and social problem with many of the details included, while making it interesting and easy to read. His experiences in the Bayou with the peoples that live on the land there are phenomenal. This book is an excellent suggestion for anyone interested in either environmental, social or travel stories. I would like to have all Americans read it.

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Aug 09, 2008 Andy rated it 4 of 5 stars

In June, I filled in with an ecology lab at LSU's Dept. of Oceanography and Coastal Studies (basically, my friend Joe threw me a bone). This was a great way to close out my time in Louisiana--finally seeing (and trudging through) the disappearing wetlands of the state. And this book helped me pull it all together...

Louisiana contains fully 40% of the nation's wetlands, and as Tidwell explains, these aren't just mosquito-breeding fields, but rich ecosystems upon which the entire nation depends. O...more

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Dec 10, 2007 Gay rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who is concerned about the environment Lousiana etc

Shelves: non-fiction

I read this book shortly after Katrina. Here's the review I wrote on Amazon.

According to Michael Tidwell, in his book Bayou Farewell, twenty-five miles of Louisiana coastline disappear each year. That's 25. 2-5. And this statistic may be more dramatic in the wake of Katrina and Rita, yet most of us are unaware of what is happening in the estuaries of Southern Louisiana. The state's rich supply of wildlife, animal, marine, and avian, is threatened by the advance of the Gulf of Mexico into the wet...more I read this book shortly after Katrina. Here's the review I wrote on Amazon.

According to Michael Tidwell, in his book Bayou Farewell, twenty-five miles of Louisiana coastline disappear each year. That's 25. 2-5. And this statistic may be more dramatic in the wake of Katrina and Rita, yet most of us are unaware of what is happening in the estuaries of Southern Louisiana. The state's rich supply of wildlife, animal, marine, and avian, is threatened by the advance of the Gulf of Mexico into the wetlands. It's turning fresh water into salt, drowning native grasses, oak trees, cemeteries, and small towns. Changes in the fragile chemistry of the wetlands endangers oysters and crabs. Eventually the migration route for the white and brown shrimp will disappear. The people of this area are in retreat. Louisiana fishermen supply "an astonishing 30 percent of American's annual seafood harvest, measured by weight." When the wildlife is gone and the people are relocated to higher ground, we all lose.

In recent years, many of us have experienced the unique culture of "Sout' Loosiane" by traveling to New Orleans and perhaps cruising down Bayou Black or Lafourche. Many of us know Louisiana through movies like The Big Easy and books such as Heaven's Prisoners by James Lee Burke. And most of us have fallen in love with the food, the shrimp okra gumbo, the blackened red-fish, the crawfish etoufee. Would there be the BAM of Emeril without Cajun food? What's Cajun food without Louisiana shrimp, red-fish, oysters, and crabs? The state's plight is everyone's problem and Tidwell's book takes you deep into the heart of the swamp.

Writing before Katrina and Rita, Tidwell relates his journey through the wetlands via shrimp trawlers, crab boats, and oil-company supply ship. He hitch-hikes down bayous and canals, meeting and talking with Cajuns, the Houma tribe, Vietnamese settlers, and the environmentalists who are trying to wake up America to this continuing tragedy. Author and Louisianan Burke says Bayou Farewell is "The best book on Louisiana I have ever read...stunning, beautifully written," and I have to add that it's a jolting call to arms for the coastline along the Gulf of Mexico. It reminds me of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, a book length essay about man's responsibility to the planet and to ourselves. Silent Spring changed the way we think about our custodial duty to the environment and Bayou Farewell admonishes us as to how we have forgotten that duty.

Over thousands of years, the Mississippi has built the delta that makes up Southern Louisiana. The estuary and its wildlife developed because of the river's constant deposit of sediment at its mouth. This natural process has been interrupted by man and levee system which now takes that sediment and dumps it over the continental shelf and into the Gulf of Mexico. In other words, Louisiana wetlands are being starved of its nourishment of dirt, mud, silt, sand. As the sediment is denied into the area, the salty waters of the Gulf are filling the void, moving farther and farther inland. The end result is the disappearance of the land, the creatures that inhabit it, and a unique way of life.

There are solutions to help rebuild the coastline and estuaries, but Tidwell warns us to take action now. At the rate of twenty-five miles per year, that gives us maybe thirty years before it's all gone.

I urge you to read Bayou Farewell and tell others to read it. Send it to your congressman. Thanks for your attention and time. (less)

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Dec 01, 2008 Desiree rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who loves Louisiana and/or Cajuns

Recommended to Desiree by: found via Amazon from similar book review

Hands down, a must read for anyone who loves Louisiana and/or the Cajun culture. A fascinating, but sad look at the state of the culture and the State of Louisiana. As a native Louisianian, I found it difficult to read this book as it made me sad to see what's happening to the place where I was born and raised. This place is so special to me, but just like many of my fellow Cajuns, I have fled the state in search of better job opportunities. It's sad to see that a smart, motivated individual has...more

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Oct 23, 2008 Carolyn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Most accurate description I've read of coastal Louisiana and Cajun culture...he does a great job of capturing the feeling of being in South Louisiana, especially the food, the people, and unfortunately the disappearing coast. I've never been so sad, proud, and hungry all at the same time while reading a book. While reading on the subway I looked up several times shocked to see that I was in NYC and not on a boat somewhere in a bayou.

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 11, 2009 Chana rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: environmental, inspirational-memoirs, philosophy, political, travel-diaries, favorites

Another favorite book. I learned a lot reading this book and enjoyed every word. I'm working 'how to preserve coastal Louisiana' into every conversation. I read a lot of this book out loud to my husband, we laughed so hard about some of the scenes, and I cried too. Even though we don't eat oysters, shrimp or crab I brought my kids to the seafood counter for a little education on these creatures and where they come from. Then I bought a CD of songs from the New Orleans area to benefit the people...more

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Jul 16, 2008 Laura added it

This book is about the coastal erosion of Louisiana. It is told by a man who traveled the bayous and bays of the La. coast with the people who live there. I like that it is about the people and not a just a sermon about how desperate the situation is along the coast. And the situation is extreme.

1 like · like · see review

Oct 22, 2007 Lauren rated it 5 of 5 stars

Thorough and engaging reporting about what is really happening to Louisiana's coast. Tidwell helps readers grasp the enormity of the problem, info you would hope that leaders/politicians and the Army Corps of Engineers would have, but it doesn't seem that way.

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Jan 28, 2008 Erik Loomis rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a first rate book on the destruction of the bayous. Also a great book for understanding why Hurricane Katrina was so destructive. It's really sad admittedly, but Tidwell is a strong writer and it's enjoyable at the same time.

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Aug 12, 2007 Kurt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: recommended

If you're from South Louisiana and you don't read this book, your Louisiana Card should be revoked.

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Mar 24, 2013 Brittany rated it 5 of 5 stars

As someone who has been born and raised in South Louisiana, this book really struck home for me, if you can pardon the pun. To be honest, this book, set in about the year 2000, and published a few years before Hurricane Katrina... Well, it is eerily prophetic. Tidwell does an excellent job of portraying the culture and lives of the proud bayou people. And he also lays out in a clear and undeniable way that the loss of our wetlands is not just a local, but rather, a national tragedy. This should...more

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Mar 30, 2012 Sheather Nelson rated it 4 of 5 stars

I liked the personal stories, the great description, and the sort of outsider wonder at learning about the erosion and destruction of the Louisiana coast. As an environment reporter, I would have liked it a bit better if the author had not obviously been a travel writer amazed into writing an environmental/cultural book, because he sometimes acted so shocked by information that has been publicly available to not only scientists but politicians for decades. But then again, most Americans were ama...more

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Feb 14, 2009 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: read-2009

This book was special for me. It spoke of a place, of customs, and people I'd nearly forgotten because of distance and time put between us. Through weekly talks with my parents, emails of news articles, and reading of online bayou papers I've been kept informed of the disappearing Louisiana coast. My annual trips to the bayou also remind me how fast the land is sinking. I see the differences each year and they're not subtle differences. Places I used to walk, build 'camps', sit under trees and f...more This book was special for me. It spoke of a place, of customs, and people I'd nearly forgotten because of distance and time put between us. Through weekly talks with my parents, emails of news articles, and reading of online bayou papers I've been kept informed of the disappearing Louisiana coast. My annual trips to the bayou also remind me how fast the land is sinking. I see the differences each year and they're not subtle differences. Places I used to walk, build 'camps', sit under trees and fish are now just water. Prairies of marsh grass around Leeville with little trinasse's [water channels:] meandering through the fields of green are now just open water. The community is drowning.

Mike Tidwell's book is non-fiction, but it reads like fiction, even like science fiction at times. His message about the disappearing coast is clear. But this is not simply a study of coastal erosion. He travels and lives with the people who call the bayou home, refugees of past wars, people pushed to the southern extremes to eke out a living; the Cajuns, the Indians, and the Vietnamese (before the giant hurricane of 1893 there was even a Chinese community living on the bayou).

I learned just recently that FEMA does not recognize the levee system protecting the lower Lafourche Parish. As a result of this, flood insurance is expected to triple. People are now paying nearly 3 times the amount of their mortgages on insurance. Many are forced to leave. Many don't have insurance.

Simply put, the taming of the Mississippi River and the oil rush of the 20th century created the problem we see today. Plans have been developed to right this wrong. But it appears that once again the Cajuns, the Indians, and the Vietnamese will have to move on and look for other lands, exiled again.

• "Diz life down here," he says, "it's in [the:] blood. He just don't realize it yet. He don't realize he can go wherever he wants but he'll never be happy unless he lives down de baya. What good's a job payin' a million dollars if you ain't happy?"

• Before we drift off, Phan lights a final Marlboro in the dark. His Asian face glows with a faint orange hue as he says, "I think, you know, I'm like special eel in Thailand or salmon in Alaska. Many years go by and I travel far from home and I grow up and now, much time later, I make long trip back, thousands of miles back, to place where my life began, to place where I was born."

• My travels along the coast are almost over, and the sadness that comes at the end of any meaningful journey is now compounded by the very real possibility that I will never pass this way again. Not because I don't want to, but because the place won't exist. It might be gone. In all my travels around the world I've never had to say goodbye to a place in quite this manner. I've never even imagined such a place could exist. The traveler is supposed to go away, not the destination.

• ... land is still disappearing at the astonishing rate of 25 to 35 square miles per year.
(this was a pre-Katrina/Rita estimate)(less)

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Apr 22, 2009 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: louisiana

Did you know that the Louisiana coast is sinking into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of 25 acres per day, a football field every 20 minutes?!

Mike Tidwell travels throughout the "Cajun coast," speaking with commercial fishermen about their lifestyle that is being severely threatened by the sinking land. Tidwell explains how the levees along the Mississippi River were built to manipulate the course of the river and prevent flooding in major cities, like New Orleans. But unfortunately, these very lev...more

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Jan 27, 2009 Gabriel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Tidwell does an excellent job of highlighting the serious environmental threat to the Gulf Coast of Louisiana posed by saltwater intrusion into freshwater marshes. Every hour, a football-field sized area of the marsh goes underwater, permanently. And, as a result, hurricanes become exponentially more dangerous to towns that used to be miles from the coast and the fishermen that fish the coast's abundant marshes are facing the prospect of having to not only change jobs but change their lives, fro...more

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Feb 25, 2009 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am so glad Mike Tidwell wrote this book because this is a story that needed to be told. The ecological disaster that is south Louisiana is quite alarming and will most certainly be a factor in the future of global warming. This book is full of great interviews and is well researched. I only wish in the several years since its publication that things would have progressed somehow but to my knowledge they have not.

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Mar 03, 2012 Debra rated it 4 of 5 stars

I didn't expect to like this book, but read it because my dad suggested it. (We don't always have the same taste). It's an enjoyable and educational read. I learned about the challenges facing the Gulf Coast that were put into play long before global-warming became known. I was shocked that this is happening in our own country, yet I know more about the loss of the Amazon Rainforest than what's happening in our own back yard. And, it can be fixed if as a country we make it a priority.

Anyone who'...more

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May 24, 2011 Katelyn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: environmental-studies

I read this book as the introduction to a watershed-based semester of study that culminated in looking at the complex environmental problems facing the Louisiana coast and the impacts these problems have on the culture there. Tidwell does a great job of outlining the various rich cultures that exist in this area and reflects the depth of individual people who work and live on the bayou.

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Jan 06, 2013 Daniel Milstein rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is a must read. Mike really captures the soul of Louisiana.It's not only a wonderful book about Louisiana and its people. He highlights the serious coastal erosion problem in Louisiana which makes you sad and angry. It's a reminder of what we have lost because we failed to face the environmental problems. Wonderful well written book with stories and personal experiences.

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May 27, 2011 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is for anyone who wants to know about Southern LA culture and environment. I loved this book. There is a world down in Southern LA that is to cherish. The author takes you along with his hitch hiking trip along the bayous. He meets all kinds of characters and allows the reader to be a part of his journey.
I just returned from a cajun-bayou-gulf coast trip and this book was a perfect "before you go" read!

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Jun 30, 2010 Dianne rated it 3 of 5 stars

I learned some things about my state and my people that I didn't know.
I thought the author did a fine job of portraying, with respect the
people in South Louisiana in a very rich manner of writing. I didn't
care for all the statistics, but I understand the necessity of that.
The desired effect, to inform and urge action got through though.

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Jul 25, 2011 Tori added it

2009- Okay, so there were parts of this book I found interesting, like the sections on Cajuns and the Native Americans. I also think the issues presented in the book are important. That said, I found parts of it terribly boring and dry. You'd probably like it if you are interested in environmental issues.

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Jun 21, 2009 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Some context for Hurricane Katrina (it was written in 2003). Good book for anyone who wants to learn more about the aftermath of man's fear of nature/need to "play God" and our lust for oil. A classic case of take what we percieve to be easy now then pay a huge price later.

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Sep 06, 2009 Ann Porter rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, book-club

I learned a lot from this book - from the life cycle of the brown shrimp to the traditions of the healing traiteur in the United Houma Nation. The book covers a broad scope of cultural and natural topics with an eye that never wavers from the theses: that the Louisiana coast is disappearing; that we will lose cultural and natural treasures forever if it's allowed to continue; and that fixing the problem is possible, but we have to MOVE. And QUICKLY.

What was most astonishing to me about this book...more

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Feb 05, 2009 Tom Gilliam rated it 4 of 5 stars

Travelogue of the Southern Louisiana coast. Lots of crazy cajuns and other assorted bayou ne'er-do-wells. The writer tries for a little hard journalism but misses the mark and thankfully sticks with what he knows.

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Nov 19, 2008 justme rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was not something I would've normally picked up but was assigned to through a class and I'm glad I read it.

Mike Tidwell renders the sheer beauty of the bayou life, surroundings, and diverse culture with precise detail in this book. If you didn't know anything about the bayou and the environmental struggles still going on, you will by the time you're done with this.

Tidwell did an amazing job at seamlessly interlacing information with narrative as he traverses the bayou, meeting a slew of col...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Melissa Ooten rated it 4 of 5 stars

Important look at environmental destruction in southern Louisiana. Especially interesting given that I'll be visiting the Houma nation in one of the areas profiled in the book next week.

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Mar 23, 2011 Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars

A well-written and interesting account of the tragedy that is going on all along the Louisiana coast. I wish everyone could read this book and see just how simple it would be to avert disaster if we all agreed to just get it done.

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Sep 28, 2012 Elizabeth Rival rated it 5 of 5 stars

I remember thinking when Katrina hit, "Well, Tidewell called it". Great book, I wish it would make a difference in how we operate.

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Jan 28, 2010 Glenn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

This book is more than overdue. Tidwell's style is investigative and it fits well with The subject: The Death of Lousiana's Wetlands. While many think America is merely losing beautiful coast land every day, Tidwell is quick to elaborate that entire industries are being lost as well. The reader learns who is responsible for the declining area of wetlands and why policy is slow to take shape addressing the issue. This is a really good read for people already interested in the subject but possibly...more

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About Mike Tidwell

Mike Tidwell is founder and director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in Maryland, Virginia, and DC. He is also an author and filmmaker who predicted in vivid detail the Katrina hurricane disaster in his 2003 book Bayou Farewell: The Rich Life and Tragic Death of Louisiana’...more

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