Let me guess—you heard the term EMP and thought, “That’s some sci-fi doomsday movie stuff, right?” You’re not alone. Most people only start paying attention to electromagnetic pulse attacks after some Hollywood hero saves the day by flipping a big red switch. Unfortunately, real life doesn’t come with a soundtrack or a dramatic countdown. What it does come with is responsibility—and that’s where you come in.

I'm Scott Lochlan. I’m not ex-military. I don’t live in a bunker. I don’t wear camo to the grocery store. I’m a regular guy who learned the hard way that normal can change fast—and when it does, nobody’s coming to save you. The good news? You can be ready, even if you’ve never prepped for anything more serious than a snowstorm.

This book isn’t about scaring you. It’s about equipping you. Because here’s the truth: if a large-scale EMP attack hit tomorrow, everything we rely on—electricity, communication, transportation, water—would vanish in seconds. And it wouldn’t matter how much money you have in the bank or how many followers you’ve got online. It’d be about who planned and who didn’t.

I still remember the moment it clicked for me. It was a Tuesday, and I was sitting in my kitchen trying to toast a frozen waffle when the power flickered off. No big deal. Until it stayed off. For hours. Turned out to be a transformer issue down the block, nothing dramatic. But those silent hours, watching my fridge warm up and my phone battery tick down, made me think—what if this was it?

I started small. A flashlight. A water filter. A few cans of chili I told myself I’d eat during a camping trip I never went on. But then I started reading. Researching. Asking questions. What I learned scared me—but it also gave me purpose. And now I want to hand that purpose to you.

You’re not powerless. You’re not too late. And you don’t need a fallout shelter and a year’s supply of freeze-dried food to be ahead of 90% of the population. What you need is knowledge, a plan, and the willingness to do something with both. You’ll find all three in these pages.

This isn’t going to be a dry list of checkboxes. We’re going to talk like people. I’ll share what I’ve done, what I’ve learned, what I’ve screwed up (and believe me, there were screwups). You’ll come away with practical steps you can take right now—today—to start preparing for an EMP event.

So take a deep breath. Let’s not panic. Let’s get ready.

Welcome to the grid down life.