Montecito Mudslide Tragedy: Grieving Mother and Wife Recounts Healing Journey Following Profound Loss
Montecito, CA, April 11, 2023 — In the early hours of January 9, 2018, heavy rainfall combined with deforestation from recent wildfires caused a series of mudflows northwest of Montecito. The incident was responsible for 23 deaths and caused $177 million in property damage. News of the mudslide that ravaged the unsuspecting community made national headlines. Among those headlines was the tragic story of the Cantin family.
Before the devastating slide reached their home, Kim and Dave Cantin, along with their children, Jack and Lauren, tried to escape in the middle of the night with their beloved dog. Separated during the impact, their fates were now out of their control. After waking up half buried in a pile of mud, boulders and debris that had carried her away from where her home once stood, Kim Cantin was all alone, unaware if any of her family had survived.
After being rescued that morning, she learned that her teen daughter miraculously had been found, buried alive, by search and rescue teams. When tragic news of her husband’s passing came, the gravity of her new reality was heavy to bear. But she held on to hope that her missing son would soon be found. What transpired in the devastating aftermath of the Cantin tragedy is a powerful 3 ½- year journey to find her son’s remains, fueled by love, faith, determination, unconventional support and unexpected wisdom.
As the new family of two struggled to start anew, Cantin tells of the strength and wisdom her daughter, Lauren, embodies as a result of the tragedy. From organizing and performing for celebrity fundraisers for other mudslide victims to immersing herself in her art — singing — she has embraced her healing process in profound ways.
Cantin also recounts stories of the generous help she received from friends and community members, rescue professionals, intuitive mediums and a university anthropology professor and students for the search and ultimate discovery of her son’s remains.
As Cantin affirms, “Now, I am aware of love coming to and through me more than ever before. I’m more present in the moment. Losing my son and husband, and meeting so many people who supported Lauren and me through our loss and during our search, opened me up to seeing and feeling more deeply.”
Cantin’s powerful memoir, Where Yellow Flowers Bloom, is a heartfelt testament of a mother’s love and a wife’s devotion in the midst of sudden loss and trauma, with an enlightened perspective on mortality. Through her patience, perseverance and willingness to be open to help and to heal, she confirms love’s ability to connect and transcend beyond life.
About the Author
Kim Cantin enjoyed a 20-year career in sales and marketing leadership in medical devices working for a Fortune 500 company. She met her loving husband, Dave, at Johnson and Johnson, and they started a family with two great kids and their goofy dog. Later, Kim created her own successful marketing consulting firm and eventually worked as a senior director of marketing for Teleflex Urology.
After the devastating mudslides of January 2018 and surviving the experience, she felt compelled to write her first book, Where Yellow Flowers Bloom, with the hope that it will help and inspire others. She is still an active member of the Santa Barbara community. When she isn’t spending time with her daughter, friends or family, she is with her two pups.
For more information, please visit:
Where Yellow Flowers Bloom: A True Story of Hope through Unimaginable Loss
Publisher: Precocity Press
Release Date: April 7, 2023
ISBN-13: 979-8987350164 (paperback)
ASIN: B0BVC7HY42 (Kindle)
Available from Amazon.com
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
