SPRING HILL, Fla. — Barely a week after Hurricane Maria hit, 17-year-old Jose Lopez and his family were among the hundreds of people standing in line waiting for ice at a manufacturing plant in Quebradillas, Puerto Rico.
While filming a quick video of the scene on his cell phone, he was struck by inspiration.
- Lopez plans to publish "Stories of Puerto Rico"
- Collection will include around 52 stories
- Release planned for September 20, 2018
“There were so many things that were going on that I saw the need to document those, even if they were short, little things," Lopez explained. "Those little things make a really big impact."
Now, he plans on publishing an anthology of stories about Hurricane Maria survivors entitled "Stories of Puerto Rico."
“They’re so unique and so heartwarming that I know there’s a lot, probably thousands of stories, similar that millions of people went through the same catastrophe and went through the same event,” he said.
Like many other survivors, Lopez and his family eventually relocated to Florida, temporarily settling down in Spring Hill. He's now preparing to move back to Puerto Rico, and to delve full force into the project.
He hopes to write around 52 stories, painting a picture of the different experiences each survivor went through. The collection is scheduled to be released on Sept. 20.
It’s an ambitious project, but the teenager is no stranger to the world of publishing — he released his first book at age 14.
“It would be a dream come true to see this project and the content of this project reach literally millions. I know it’s possible, I know we can do it,” Lopez said.
Lopez has launched a website, www.storiesofpuertorico.com, where hurricane survivors can begin sharing their experiences. He encourages anyone who was impacted by the catastrophic storm to submit to the website.
Despite the tragedy, Lopez hopes to shine a positive light on the situation.
“I want to focus on those positive events, those positive stories that came out of a negative catastrophe and see how even though you may be hitting adversity, may be facing a difficult situation, that there’s still positive things that go on.”