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Interviews | July 4, 2009

All posts by Jill Owens Powells.com Interview: Luis Alberto Urrea

Luis Alberto Urrea is a poet, novelist, journalist, and essayist who has been writing about the relationship between the United States and Mexico,... Continue »


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    Into the Beautiful North

    Luis Alberto Urrea

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4 Burnside Featured Titles- Spirituality and Wellness


After the Fire: A True Story of Friendship and Survival

by Robin Gaby Fisher

After the Fire: A True Story of Friendship and Survival Cover

ISBN13: 9780316066211
ISBN10: 0316066214
Condition: Standard
Dustjacket: Standard
All Product Details

Synopses & Reviews

Review:

"Three students died and 58 were injured in the January 2000 fire that arsonists set in the student lounge of Seton Hall University in New Jersey. Newark Star Ledger reporter Fisher tells the story of the two 'most badly burned' survivors (roommates Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos), proceeding from the devastating fire through the grueling medical treatment into their life-affirming future. A medical education and a detective story unfold within this consistently dramatic account, as Fisher joins a reporter's curiosity and objectivity to a near-familial access to the principals. Unsparing in her description of the hard path to recovery ('The gruesome nature of the work meant that few ever became old-timers in the occupation of treating burns'), Fisher takes the reader inside Saint Barnabas Burn Center, where the charismatic director of the burn unit, Hani Mansour; the nurses; the physical and occupational therapists work miracles, celebrating victories and agonizing over setbacks. Honest and intimate in her account of the stress of 'distraught parents,' the intense strain upon marriages and relationships, the prolonged suffering and multiple surgeries of the survivors and the evolving friendship of the accidental roommates, Fisher conveys a deep respect and compassion for all involved — except the arsonists. She succeeds in making what might have been yesterday's news into today's inspiration." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Synopsis:

On January 19, 2000, a fire raged through SetonHallUniversity's freshman dormitory, killing three students and injuring 58 others. Among the victims were Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos, roommates from poor neighborhoods who made their families proud by getting into college. They managed to escape, but both were burned terribly. AFTER THE FIRE is the story of these young men and their courageous fight to recover from the worst damage the burn unit at Saint Barnabas hospital had ever seen. It is the story of the extraordinary doctors and nurses who work with the burned. It is the story of mothers and fathers, of faith and family and the invisible ties that bind us to each other. It is the story of the search for the arsonists--and the elaborate cover-up that nearly obscured the truth. And it is the story of the women who came to love these men, who knew that real beauty is a thing not seen in mirrors.

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Jena, February 27, 2009 (view all comments by Jena)
Bookish snobs may not be impressed with this book, but fans of Reader's Digest stories will probably like telling of the survival and recovery of two college students badly burned in a dorm fire in 2000.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780316066211
Subtitle:
A True Story of Friendship and Survival
Author:
Fisher, Robin Gaby
Publisher:
Little Brown and Company
Subject:
General
Subject:
Burns and scalds
Subject:
United states
Subject:
Specific Groups - Special Needs
Subject:
Burns and scalds - Patients - United States
Publication Date:
August 2008
Binding:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Pages:
261
Dimensions:
8.50x6.00x1.00 in. .87 lbs.

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