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In 2017, Hurricane Maria impacted the archipelago of Puerto Rico as a category 4. As a result of this experience, the book ‘Un cambio categoría 4: Memorias del huracán María’— which includes the personal narratives of 15 undergraduate students from the University of Puerto Rico—was produced. In this article we document the book's production and dissemination process. We describe how this process represented a mechanism for coping with post-disaster conditions, as well as contributing to the academic and professional development of students. We exemplify how the book contributes to the aspirations of ‘Power, Prestige & Forgotten Values: A Disaster Studies Manifesto', which highlights, among other things, the need for knowledge production by those who suffer the impacts of disasters in a way that adequately reflects the local realities in which disasters occur; the Manifesto also advocates that knowledge production should benefit those who live at risk and experience disasters. In this context, we reflect and suggest areas to advance the objectives of the Manifesto, specifically, and the study of disasters and risk reduction, more broadly.