Yellowstone's third supereruption was 640,000 years ago. More than 250 cubic miles of debris dispersed. That's enough to bury Texas five feet deep. Since then the supervolcano in northwestern Wyoming has made no significant movement for nearly 70,000 years. Experts told us there would be warning signs of another supereruption months in advance—that the chance of another one was so slim we wouldn't have to worry about it for thousands of years.

That was until Yellowstone reminded us it's still an active volcano.

Yellowstone has buried Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Colorado in three feet of volcanic ash. The entire Midwest is under a blanket of glass and splintered rock. Crops, buildings, and homes across the country are ruined forever. Countless Americans are at risk of having no drinkable water. Millions have died. Some of those who live closest to Yellowstone are without essential resources indefinitely. Others who were separated from their loved ones are left wondering if they'll have anyone to go home to.

The dire circumstances have people fighting for their lives. Fragments of Us tells the stories of survival in the worst natural disaster in the history of mankind, and of those that weren't as lucky.

*All proceeds from the book are going to support the Dick and Joan Jacobs Public Interest Law Clinic for Democracy and the Environment.