Interview with Aisha Adams

Interview with Aisha Adams

Mills River resident Aisha Adams was interviewed by Buncombe County Special Collections Librarian Carissa Pfeiffer on August 25, 2025. This interview took place at Blue Ridge Public Radio and was conducted as part of the Come Hell or High Water Oral History Project for Buncombe County Special Collections, Pack Memorial Library.

Adams describes how she and her husband, daughter, and niece experienced Helene. She explains that she initially underestimated the threat [00:02:57] and realized the severity of the situation after attempting to buy groceries the Saturday after the storm [00:04:27]. She frequently reflects on healing, such as how experiencing nature in the summer following the storm helped her family rebuild positive associations [00:12:16], how routines helped her personally as she balanced responsibilities as a caretaker and a small business coach [00:13:49], and the need for collective processing [00:17:56].

Narrator portraits depict Aisha at her home in Mills River, October 9, 2025.

Interview copyright Aisha Adams and Buncombe County Special Collections. Photographs copyright Bill Green Photography.

English

MS456.001Y

1 digital audio recording (00:24:58); 1 transcript (14 pages); 1 document (3 pages); 3 digital photographs

00:24:58

Carissa Pfeiffer

Aisha Adams