Exploring the Strength Within
Resilience: The Power to Overcome
From Grammy-nominated bluesman Vasti Jackson to mental health leader Dr. Alyssa Killebrew, our first issue of Amplify The Sip explores how creativity, faith, and community shape the way we endure, adapt, and rise—together.
Amplifying Resilience
This issue of Amplify The Sip is rooted in resilience — the quiet strength that carries us through change, loss, and new beginnings. Through the story of Mississippi bluesman Vasti Jackson and the deeply personal reflections of Dr. Alyssa Killebrew, we explore how music, memory, and human connection can heal, inspire, and endure. And, on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we share an additional story of survival and rebuilding from the Mississippi Gulf Coast — a reminder of how resilience continues to shape our people and our place.
From the Front Porch: Remembering Katrina
On August 29, 2005, I was off from work. I’d covered the weekend shift at The Vicksburg Post, so that Monday I found myself at home, sitting in my living room watching what I called “Hurricane TV.” Meteorologists clung to poles on The Weather Channel, shouting into...
From the Front Porch
Today marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina changed everything for Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. In this issue, Amplify The Sip reflects on the storm’s impact through the eyes of our founder, Lauchlin Fields, whose early days as a reporter at The Vicksburg Post revealed the essential role of storytelling in times of crisis.
We are also honored to feature a special story from Coast native and journalist Jim Beaugez, who spoke with two survivors about their memories and what resilience means two decades later.
Remembering Katrina
Standing in the Path of Hurricane Katrina’s Fury
Story by JIM BEAUGEZ
On the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi Gulf Coast survivors share memories of loss, survival, and resilience.
What did Hurricane Katrina teach you about "resilience?"
What Hurricane Katrina taught me is that resiliency is the result of having faith in yourself, your community and the unknown. It’s ok to miss and long for what was, but as long as you continue to have gratitude for the things that remain — even if those things are just memories or lessons learned — there will always be new opportunities for growth and joy waiting for you.
Sereena Henderson
Mississippi Gulf Coast Native
Bay St. Louis: The town Katrina could not kill
BAY ST. LOUIS — Today, when Bay Town Inn owner Nikki Moon steps onto the front porch of her charming and newly remodeled downtown bed and breakfast, she sees a sandy beachfront and a dead oak tree that’s intricately carved into the likeness of angels. Ten...
From the Archive:
Remembering Katrina
This archival story from The ’Sip Magazine (2015) looks back at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, 10 years after Hurricane Katrina—through the voices of Nikki Moon, Mayor Eddie Favre, and neighbors.
The Sip List: Top 5
Jim Beaugez, Writer
The Sip List: Top 5 is a new feature from The Sip Collective — a space to highlight what’s inspiring, challenging, and fueling creativity across our community. Each issue, we invite a storyteller, artist, or community voice to share five things on their mind — lessons, sparks of inspiration, or reminders worth carrying forward.
For this special Katrina anniversary edition, Coast native and writer Jim Beaugez shares his Top 5 lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina — distilled from memory, resilience, and lived experience.
1. Know your elevation
After Hurricane Katrina pushed a historic surge of water inland, FEMA redrew the flood lines for the Gulf Coast to reflect the new realities. Even if you’re not a homeowner, you should know your elevation (there are apps for this) and whether or not you’re in a designated flood zone.
2. Have an evacuation plan
3. Keep your emergency kit ready
Some who rode out Katrina weren’t prepared to deal with the aftermath. Many others lost everything — including their supplies of food, candles and batteries. But regardless of how the storm impacts you, it’s better to be prepared with several days’ worth of necessities and whatever conveniences you can set aside, like a battery-powered fan to keep cool until electricity is back.
4. Have a water reserve
Water pumping stations need power, too. You can meet your own needs by setting aside water before the storm hits (factor a gallon of drinking water per day per person). Filling up a bathtub with water will give you the ability to flush toilets if that essential service isn’t working properly.
5. Conserve fuel, but don't hoard
The long lines at gas stations and fuel rationing after Katrina revealed how much we depend on gasoline and natural gas for transportation, running generators, and cooking food. Stock up on enough to get your family through the aftermath of a hurricane, but hoarding will only make recovery difficult for neighbors until gas stations are able to restock their fuel stores.
Back to Joy
Dr. Alyssa Killebrew’s powerful journey
Story by JIM BEAUGEZ
“My life is bigger than me…It’s a great privilege and honor to have people share their darkest secrets, their worst traumas, and find relief and courage to transform it into something different and beautiful.”
Vasti Jackson
Playing the Long Game
Story by JIM BEAUGEZ
A successful blues artist and arranger for decades, Jackson’s mission to preach the power of music around the world can’t be derailed.
Vasti Jackson in Action
Take a look back at Vasti Jackson when he posed for the cover of The ‘Sip Magazine’s Winter 2017 issue. Read the cover story by Jim Beaugez, who also wrote the Vasti Jackson feature for our inaugural issue of Amplify The Sip, a new digital publication published by The Sip Collective.
The Sip Collective, powered by LF Voices Collective, is an initiative by Lauchlin Fields, founder and publisher of The ‘Sip Magazine.
Read more about the evolution from a magazine to a cultural storytelling movement.
Then (2017)
Photos by Thortis Photography for The ‘Sip Magazine
Now (2025)
Photos by Laura Carbone
From The Archives
Vasti Jackson graced the cover of The ‘Sip Magazine in 2017. The Winter issue, sponsored by the Mississippi Arts Commission, featured Vasti and others honored by the Mississippi Governor’s Arts Awards.
Vasti Jackson, ambassador to the blues, forges a path through a complicated history
There’s no sensory experience like an empty nightclub waiting for its moment. The way the neon hangs in the room, drawing attention away from the dark corners where revelries past collect. The way the hurried staff burst from double-doored corridors to set a...
From the Archive:
In Memoriam
Read this story from The ‘Sip archive, originally published in 2017 about how best-selling Mississippi author Greg Iles took on race and the ghosts of the past in ‘Mississippi Blood.’
The Triumph of Greg Iles
Greg Iles in his hometown of Natchez in 2017 / Photos by Thortis Photography for The 'Sip Magazine ©2017 This story first appeared in The 'Sip Magazine's Bicentennial issue. Tearing open the wounds of the past is an uncertain business. When that past involves...
Discover StoryLab
Where Stories Live On
We’re building a multimedia, people-first storytelling model that works across industries—helping newsrooms, museums, nonprofits, businesses, schools, and communities bring stories to life in ways that build trust, connection, and impact.
We activate stories through oral histories, multimedia production, interactive exhibits, and engagement toolkits.
Amplify The Sip is just one example of how we do this—this month features an oral history by Vasti Jackson and a quote and suggested reading from Dr. Alyssa Killebrew. StoryLab can do the same for your mission, whether it’s deepening audience trust, preserving history, inspiring students, strengthening brands, or showing a nonprofit’s impact.
Blues at Home
About Blues at Home
Blues @ Home: Mississippi’s Living Blues Legends is H.C. Porter’s multimedia portrait project (begun in December 2010) featuring 31 mixed‑media environmental portraits of Mississippi blues musicians, each paired with recorded oral histories gathered by project manager Lauchlin Fields.
The paintings and voices toured nationally and were compiled in a 200‑page book of photographs, paintings, and interviews.
Vasti Jackson is among the 31 legends portrayed.
What does "resilience" mean to you?
“Resilience, to me, means showing up again and again with a heart that refuses to close—even after my biggest heartbreak. I miss my soulmate every second of the day. But I have to keep my Leo courage to keep going, to keep hoping, and to keep loving when life doesn’t play fair. It’s not about bouncing back—it’s about breaking open and allowing what was meant to destroy me to somehow grow me. I am spiritual, emotional, and deeply human and flawed. I sit on the shoulders of all my family and friends and mentors and most importantly God. He is my everything.”
Dr. Alyssa Killebrew
Clinical Psychologist
~ The Current ~
Q: What Book Helps You Be More Resilient?
Falling Upward by Richard Rohr
“His writing has helped me understand that the second half of life isn’t about achieving—it’s about surrendering, unlearning, and becoming more whole.”
— Dr. Alyssa Killebrew
A Deeper Look Into Resilience
The Sound of Resilience
If you’ve been around me long enough or stopped by my front porch, you know I make playlists for just about everything—road trips, long workdays, heartbreak, big celebrations. It’s how I hold onto moments and people, and how I make sense of what’s in front of me. This...
From The ‘Sip to The Sip Collective
Nearly a decade in nonprofit journalism has brought me back to the heart of what drew me to storytelling in the first place—only now with deeper clarity, experience, and purpose. I’m returning to my roots, carrying everything I’ve learned along the way, to build...
The Sip List: Top 5
Welcome to The Sip List: Top 5—a new space to share what’s inspiring and fueling creativity across our LFVC + Sip Collective community.
Sometimes it’ll be my list, sometimes it’ll come from a contributor, a featured storyteller, or voices from our growing Sip Contributor Collective.
Five has always been a meaningful number for me. I’m the fifth and youngest child, and somehow my life tends to unfold in five-year chapters—career shifts, kids, even cats. I’ve also always loved the movie High Fidelity and its “Top 5” lists. They’re more than rankings—they’re a glimpse into someone’s world, a shorthand for the stories, memories, and connections that matter most.
That’s what this space is for: five touchpoints that give you a little window into the people shaping our work and our community.
First up: My Top 5 Right Now.
Enjoy!
-Lauchlin
What I'm Watching
The newest season of Dexter (Resurrection)—because dark and twisty feels oddly comforting. I’m also binging Poker Face and my guilty pleasure: Building the Band. 🤫
What I'm Streaming
I’ve been loving the Sound of Resilience playlist curated for this issue—it’s moody, bold, and full of grit. Caamp Radio is also a favorite jam for driving those looong stretches of I-20. And Juice WRLD? That’s courtesy of my almost 9-year-old Henry. It’s basically our unsolicited household soundtrack. 🤦🏼♀️
What I'm Reading
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries — Let’s just say I’m highlighting entire chapters. It’s become almost like a playbook for building LFVC + The Sip Collective with heart, strategy, and a whole lot of learning along the way. 💪🏼
How I’m Living
“Build. Test. Listen. Learn.” That’s the loop I’m riding as I step into coaching newsrooms. I’ve learned that it applies to everything these days. Also—gratitude. Always. It’s my grounding ritual and quiet reminder that even in chaos, there’s beauty. The magic word: Thank you! ❤️
What I'm Eating
Fresh cherries 🍒 straight from the fridge are my new dessert obsession. And nothing hits harder in Mississippi heat than an ice-cold Topo Chico. Bonus points if it’s the lime one. Hear that, Costco?! 🍋🟩
The Sound of Resilience
If you’ve been around me long enough or stopped by my front porch, you know I make playlists for just about everything—road trips, long workdays, heartbreak, big celebrations. It’s how I hold onto moments and people, and how I make sense of what’s in front of me. This...
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