Building Resilience: Sandra Younger on Surviving Wildfires, The ComeBACK Formula, and Climate Preparedness

Care More Be Better: A Podcast For Social Impact and Sustainability Advocates

In this episode, host Corinna Bellizzi speaks with Sandra Millers Younger, journalist, fire survivor, and author of The Fire Outside My Window: A Survivor Tells the True Story of California's Epic Cedar Fire. Sandra shares her harrowing escape from the 2003 Cedar Fire, the lessons learned, and how her experience has shaped her mission to help others build resilience. With wildfires ravaging Southern California, this conversation is particularly timely, offering practical tools and emotional insights for navigating personal and collective crises.

Episode Highlights

• The Reality of Climate-Driven Wildfires
• Corinna opens with an update on the ongoing wildfires in Southern California, highlighting the rising toll of climate-driven disasters and their profound impact on communities. She reflects on resilience, gratitude, and how framing challenges positively can empower survivors.
• Sandra Younger’s Cedar Fire Story
• Sandra recounts her narrow escape from the 2003 Cedar Fire, which destroyed her home and claimed 12 lives in her community.
• She shares vivid details, from following a bobcat through smoke-filled roads to lessons learned about preparedness, including the importance of go-bags, defensible space, and early evacuation.
• Sandra’s reflections underscore the unpredictability and speed of natural disasters.
• Resilience and The ComeBACK Formula
• Sandra introduces her ComeBACK Formula, a five-step framework for building resilience:

1. Come to Gratitude – Focus on what you can be thankful for, even amid tragedy.
2. Be Patient & Believe – Healing and rebuilding take time, but resilience is innate.
3. Accept Help – Embrace support from others and be willing to ask for it when needed.
4. Choose Your Attitude – Reframe your story as one of survival and growth, not victimhood.
5. Keep Moving Forward – Celebrate small wins and take incremental steps toward recovery.

• Lessons for Preparing and Coping
• The psychological toll of disasters: triggers like wind or lightning and the importance of mental health tools.
• Practical tips for disaster preparedness: defensible space, early evacuation, and community coordination.
• Broader implications for society: the need for infrastructure improvements, proactive wildfire management, and climate resilience strategies.
• Resilience in Everyday Life
• Corinna and Sandra discuss how the principles of resilience apply to everyday challenges, from personal crises to the global pandemic. They emphasize the role of storytelling, gratitude, and connection in overcoming adversity.

Resources Mentioned

• Books:
• The Fire Outside My Window: A Survivor Tells the True Story of California's Epic Cedar Fire by Sandra Younger
• Blue Mind and Dear Wild Child by Dr. Wallace J. Nichols
• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
• From Stressed to Resilient by Dr. Deborah Gilboa
• Sandra Younger’s Website & Resources:
• The ComeBACK Formula Guidebook (Free Download)
• Coaching and speaking opportunities: SandraYounger.com
• Contact Corinna Bellizzi:
• Email: [e-mail]
• Social Media: @corinnabellizzi @caremorebebetter

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Follow Sandra Younger

• LinkedIn: Sandra Younger
• Instagram: @smyounger
• Facebook: Sandra M. Younger
• YouTube: Sandra Younger
• Twitter: @syounger

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