come hell or high water

Since the floods, I've been out of contact with--well, everyone I know. My home was literally washed away. I watched it float down the street with all the rest of the debris of the city. Cell phones are out of commission, and I'm at a refugee camp, because where else was I going to go? We've got food and water, though it won't last much longer. I don't know anyone here. I haven't tried to get in touch with my family, even though I've had some chances. I haven't even given the camp my name, so they couldn't get in touch if they wanted to.

The thing is, I watched my whole life floating away, or very nearly. And sure, I was upset for a while, but then when I got in the rescue boat and they took me to camp, suddenly I was free. If anything was going to give me a chance to start over, this was it. I could float on the will of strangers, find a new job, rent a modest apartment, live on like it never happened--like my whole life never happened.

If that's not comforting I'm not really sure what is.