It was raining in Black Mountain on Sept. 26 when Rishi Waterman received the first copies of his memoir, Children of a Harsh Bliss. The delivery came just hours before Tropical Storm Helene would arrive in Western North Carolina.
Waterman had planned to spend the next month marketing his new book. Instead, he found himself hauling water from streams to flush his toilet, sharing food with his neighbors and adjusting to life without power and internet.
Of course, Waterman was no stranger to living without modern conveniences. For 30 years, he belonged to a Hare Krishna community in Marshall County, W.Va., whose members were devoted to living off the land…