Thomas R. Fox Book Talk and Signing at Brazos Bookstore

Meet Thomas R. Fox, Kerrville resident and author of Deluge Before Dawn: Heartbreak, Survival and Resilience After the Guadalupe River Raged, at Brazos Bookstore in Houston on September 1 at 6:30 pm.

When the Guadalupe River in central Texas rose in the dark hours of July 4, 2025, it did more than sweep away cabins, cars, and familiar landmarks. It shattered the sense of safety in Kerr County and a sense of loss that no one who lived through it will ever forget. In Deluge Before Dawn: Heartbreak, Survival and Resilience After the Guadalupe River Raged, Kerrville resident Tom Fox tells the story of that night and its aftermath through the voices of those who were there—campers and counselors, first responders and local journalists, families who lost loved ones, and neighbors who refused to leave one another alone in the flood’s wake.

Drawing on dozens of intimate interviews, on-the-ground reporting, and careful reconstruction of the storm and response, Fox traces the catastrophe from the first raindrops to the frantic overnight evacuations at Camp Mystic and along the river, through the searches, vigils, funerals, and long work of rebuilding that followed. He shows how a community shaped over generations by ranchers, river families, churches, schools, and civic volunteers found within itself the endurance, faith, and mutual help needed to stand up in the face of unthinkable loss.