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Texas Monthly senior editor Aaron Parsley wrote a heartbreaking story about his family’s experiences in the July 4th flooding of the Guadalupe River.
His candid conversation with our David Brown included more than we were able to showcase on our broadcast — so we bring more of it to you here. A note that this might be a tough listen.
The full transcript of this episode of Texas Standard is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Laura Rice: Hello, KUT listeners. Laura Rice here with a Texas Extra extended and special content for our podcast listeners. This week on the program, we talked with Aaron Parsley, the Texas Monthly senior editor who wrote a heartbreaking story about his family’s experiences in the July 4th flooding of the Guadalupe River.
His candid conversation with our David Brown included more than we were able to showcase on our broadcast, so we bring more of it to you here. And a note that this might be a tough listen.
David Brown: It’s The Texas Standard. I’m David Brown. It’s long been considered a core principle of American journalism that the news is not about reporters’ feelings or reactions to the news.
It’s about the audience, helping them understand what happened, why it matters, what’s verifiably true. But there are times when a story’s so big that a reporter finds herself or himself at the heart of it, and that firsthand perspective becomes the best, if not the only, way to convey more than just the facts of what happened, but the human reality of living through it.
That’s where Texas Monthly senior editor Aaron Parsley found himself on the morning of July 4th and in the days and weeks that followed, living through it and writing about it. His harrowing and deeply moving first-person account of last summer’s Central Texas floods, “The River House Broke. We Rushed in the River,” was published in the August 2025 issue of Texas Monthly.
And last week, Parsley got word his story won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. It’s the first Pulitzer in the history of the magazine. Aaron, congratulations on the award, and thanks so much for joining us on The Texas Standard. Thank you so much for having me. I, I wanna begin by talking about the title of the story.
It’s a quote from your niece, from four-year-old Rosemary, “The River House Broke. We Rushed in the River.” And I think it’s made all the more devastating because it’s so simple and childlike. Wh- what made you dec- decide this story had to be told in the first person? Well, I
Aaron Parsley: just, I just didn’t… I– this story, I decided to write it because I w- you know, I had a message that I wanted to convey about my sister and what she was able to do, uh, the morning of the flood.
We were dealing with a, an unthinkable tragedy, and in my mind, I saw her as a hero of the day. And so I wanted to, um, just let the world know, you know, that she, that she did everything that she could, um, that she saved her daughter, she saved herself, and that we were really grateful for that. This was an effort to give testimony, to say what I saw, uh, what I felt, uh, what I heard, and a- and, and, and also what my family witnessed.
Um, so, you know, that’s, that’s, that’s why this story is,
David Brown: is written the way it is. I don’t wanna go too far without mentioning Clay, uh, your 20-month-old nephew who was killed when the house was swept away. But Clay’s present throughout this piece. I mean, y- you, you pick up on Clay’s personality, you know? I mean- Yeah
laughing during hide and seek and, you know, all that sort of thing. And I think a lot of us would’ve found it really hard to write about this, much less report on what happened. A- and I felt like you were trying to say something, not just about Clay, but about others who died in the, in the flooding that weekend.
Aaron Parsley: Certainly. I mean, this is, uh, an event that, um, we were not expecting. And, you know, we went to bed the night of the, of July 3rd a happy family, and Clay was at the center of all of that, and he, he was a, a wonderful little boy. Um, he had lived a life of happiness. He was healthy. We had a good time with him.
You know, we got in the river with him the day before. Um, and losing him is incredibly hard, and I know that we’re not the only family that lost people. Um, I can speak to the love that we have for him, um, and I, and I’m sure that many others who are suffering with grief and loss understand that. Um, and he’s on our mind, you know?
We, we miss him, and we also are grappling with, uh, the loss of s- of, of what he would become, who he would become. Mm-hmm. Um, so that’s, that’s ongoing, for sure.
David Brown: Mm-hmm. You know, I, I also felt like this was not… I mean, more than a story in another sense. It was almost a record. You know, you mention your sister, what she did to save Rosemary.
Um, w- was there a sense that writing this down was also an act of preservation for your family? It, it certainly felt personal.
Aaron Parsley: There was just an urge to say what happened, and I think it was me wanting to, um, process and, and yeah, make sense of it. Um, that morning we were all traumatized in the chaos of this flood, uh, being inside the house when it got swept away.
You know, there is… um, memories get jumbled. There’s gaps in the memory. So when I decided to write this, you know, I, uh, made the decision with my editor, my editor-in-chief, Ross McCammon, and, um, we did talk about, um, bearing witness and giving testimony. Um, and that became a, a big part of how this story came together.
Mm-hmm. Um, I did go to the various family members who were there and ask them to tell me what they remember, and we sort of pieced it together in that way because in that chaos, in that trauma, you don’t… You know, the timeline is bent. Um, there are pieces of it missing and so… And then of course we were all separated.
Um, so I needed to get from each of them, you know, what they remember, what they heard- Mm-hmm … where they, where they ended up, and what was on their mind. Um, so that was, that was certainly part of the effort of, of putting this story together. We wanted to record what happened. How did, how did they feel about you sharing this with the world?
I think my family is really supportive of, of me and of my career in journalism. They are longtime Texas Monthly readers, and I think there’s a lot of trust there. I think they were a little bit confused about why I wanted to write, uh, something so quickly. Uh, we were on deadline at the magazine, um, so everything had to happen pretty immediately.
Hmm. Um, I wrote the story in a couple of days, uh, couple of early mornings actually. Um, so, you know, I think they, they, they trusted me, but I think they were kind of unsure about why this all needed to happen right now. Um, but when the story published online, which was less than a week after the flood, um, you know, I think they knew immediately why, why I wanted to do it.
David Brown: You know, y- you say that you wrote this in part because you wanted to make sense of what you had just experienced, and yet I didn’t see that you were trying to manufacture or extract meaning out of tragedy, and I’m wondering if that restraint was intentional.
Aaron Parsley: Well, when I say that I wanted to process what happened, I think it was just, um, again, like sort of putting together a timeline and, you know, when you are involved in something like this flood, uh, all the sensations, all the fears, all the thoughts that run through your mind, all the sadness- Yeah
all the relief, um, it’s just a confusing, disorienting state of mind. And I think for me, as a writer, it helps to just put, put words down on paper and, and get real precise about what you saw, what you felt like, what you remember. So that was, that was the, the matter at hand, um, in, in the, in the story that I wrote last year.
David Brown: Well, one of the thoughts that came to mind, at, at one point, you, you write that you considered the possibility of death. And I’m wondering if you understand that moment any differently now than you did when you were, you know, living it or, or writing it out.
Aaron Parsley: What I understand about that moment is that for some reason, I was in a lot of acceptance about what was about to happen.
I didn’t know what was gonna happen. I certainly know that death was a possibility for me. I, I, I remember thinking that, you know, “This is how I’m gonna die,” and, um, you know, “I’m gonna die at, at, at 48 years old in a flood.” And, um, and I just, I just felt sort of accepting of that, um, if that was the outcome.
Um, so do I feel different about it now? I don’t, I don’t necessarily feel different about it now. I still think it could have gone either way. I don’t think that there’s anything that I did that others who lost their lives didn’t do. I think it was absolutely a roll of the dice. Um, I’m grateful to be here.
I’m grateful for my family members who survived. But yeah, it, it, it was a turning point in my life, I think. Um, and, you know, I’ve spent the last year, almost nearly a year, uh, remembering that, what it felt like, um, trying to understand it, and I think that’s just an ongoing process.
David Brown: Well, having lived through all of this, how did it feel to hear that you had won a Pulitzer Prize for, for your reporting on, on what happened?
Um,
Aaron Parsley: it was a shock. I was, um, really proud and grateful, but of course, it’s mixed feelings, you know? Um- It really matters to me how my family feels about all of this attention. Um, but I’m grateful for the opportunity to tell my story. Um, I’m proud to be a part of Texas Monthly and, um, you know, it was gratifying to be recognized for a story that honored my nephew Clay and our family’s strength.
You know, I think I- it took me a while to separate, um, this event and the work that I’ve done, um, about, about this event, and I’m extremely proud of the work that I’ve done about this event. And, um, and so it felt, it felt wonderful to, to be recognized by,
David Brown: um, by the Pulitzer Board. I’m sure you’ve been getting all sorts of calls and requests to talk about your story.
Is it hard to keep reliving these moments? Did you feel like in a way after, um, almost a year that you had been able to sort of, um, move past it in a sense? Actually, no. I’ve
Aaron Parsley: been working on a podcast, um, about the flood. Mm-hmm. And I’ve written another story that’ll be on the cover of Texas Monthly’s June issue, so coming up.
It just published last week. And so I’ve been sort of immersed in these feelings and these ideas and the, and the, the thoughts that come from this experience, and it’s not easy. It’s can be emotionally draining, but it’s, it’s… I don’t really- I feel like I don’t really have a choice, like this, this is the stuff that would be on my mind regardless.
Um, and I think being able to do work with it is, um, is a privilege. And, um, and so yeah, it can be, it can be hard at any given moment, but it’s, it’s sort of what I, um, what I choose to do and, you know, I’m, I’m looking to understand how I feel, what I believe in, and, and, and that happens through talking to other people- Mm-hmm
and through writing and, um, and these conversations and making connections. So it’s been, um, like I said, it’s been a really incredible privilege to be able to explore all of that with, um, within myself and with other people. Yeah.
David Brown: You, you mentioned something that’s, that’s really stuck with me just a moment ago.
You, you said that, you know, i- in that short span of time, something changed. You changed. And, and I’m curious how you feel that you’ve changed and in what, in what way. Sure. I mean,
Aaron Parsley: I think this follow-up story that I’ve written is kind of about how we’ve all changed and how, um, you know, when you experience something like that, um, you…
I feel like I, I, I had a closer look at the universe in a way, you know? And, um, and I kind of saw, you know, what, what it’s capable of and how, um, indifferent- It is I am to the universe. And I think you just kind of come away with new questions about your place in the universe. Um, you have, uh, a new understanding about your relationships with the people that matter most to you.
Um, there are new priorities. There are new, you know, a new perspective. Um, and, and you just, you just have like a new outlook on life and kind of reexamine a lot of things about, about yourself. Um, and so that’s– So it’s a lot to get into, and that’s why I think, um- Mm-hmm … you know, I decided to write about that again, uh, what, what has changed and how we’re all, our lives are all altered by this
David Brown: event.
So many Texans have a relationship s- with the Guadalupe River, and I’m, I’m wondering, after all that’s happened, what, what does that river mean to you now?
Aaron Parsley: Well, that river is, um, is where my nephew died, first and foremost. Um, I mean, it’s a beautiful part of the state of Texas. It’s a, it’s a place that holds a lot of wonderful memories.
It’s a place of beauty. It’s a place where my family and other families, um, gather for joy and happiness. It means something for all, for many people’s chi- for many people’s childhoods. Um, and I don’t think that that’s changed, but it is, uh, it is now a place of sadness, um, and a place where I feel a deep reverence for the folks that died out there.
Um, and it’s complicated now. You know, I’ve been back a few times, and, um, the community, the people that I’ve met since the flood, um, I feel a lot of love from, from them. Um, and I appreciate them and, um, you know. But it is, it is, uh, it is not the same that it, that it was before.
David Brown: Aaron Parsley is the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and senior editor at Texas Monthly, whose story, “The River House Broke: We Rushed In The River,” just received, uh, extraordinary acknowledgement from the Pulitzer Prize committee.
Um, we’re gonna have a link to his award-winning account of the floods at our own website, texasstandard.org, as well as an extended version of our conversation. And Aaron mentioned the new story, the newest story, and we encourage you to check that out. The title, “The Guadalupe Swept Us Away: This Is The Story Of All That Came After.”
And we should mention the upcoming podcast called Where the River Took Us. It’s out on May 26, but you can stream a trailer right now on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Aaron, thanks again for joining us, and again, congratulations. Thank you so much
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
