The Fire Outside My Window: A Survivor Tells the True Story of California's Epic Cedar Fire is both a poignant memoir and a veteran journalist's narrative nonfiction account of a catastrophic event that crippled postcard-perfect San Diego and dominated international headlines in October 2003. Author Sandra Millers Younger's miraculous saga of escape, ruin and renewal unifies a tapestry of experiences woven from more than 100 interviews with firefighters, survivors and the families of those who died. The fire itself, one of the biggest and most destructive in California history, is the main character in this epic story--a rampaging monster, framed within historical context, battled by understaffed, under-equipped firefighters, and confronted from the rare perspective of terrified civilians caught in its path. Timing, location and weather conspired against air tankers, fire engines and bulldozers, enabling a lost hunter's signal fire to gather strength in the mountains east of San Diego. Overnight, a swelling wind sent flames galloping toward the Pacific, killing 15 people, 12 of them the author's neighbors; incinerating more than 2,200 homes, including hers; and creating a lunarscape 20 times the size of Manhattan In this revealing narrative, Younger takes readers into the heart of an epic firefight, telling the stories of fire chiefs and air tanker pilots trying to combat a catastrophe bigger than they had ever imagined, and recounting both survivors' and victims' desperate efforts to escape flames moving faster than fire engines could drive. The Fire Outside My Window is a riveting and nuanced tale that captures the intensity of a runaway wildfire, honors those lost to its fury, and celebrates the human spirit's innate capacity to triumph over adversity.

For use in schools and libraries only. A teenage girl comes to terms with the traumatic aftermath of severe burns.

When their house is destroyed by fire and everything is lost except a stuffed bear and a family photograph, Mama reminds Maria and her little brother, Pepito, that they still have their most important possessions.

A stunning art book featuring twenty-three west coast artists and craftspeople who work in metal as their primary medium. Out of the Fire: Metalworkers along the Salish Sea is a breathtaking celebration of a diverse group of contemporary artists and artisans, who explore the creative possibilities of an ancient medium. From sculptors to farriers, forgers to blacksmiths, jewellers to metalsmiths, and weapons makers to welders, the twenty-three people featured in this book reflect the wide range of talent, skill, and ingenuity that exists on Canada's southwest coast. Miran Elbakyan captures movement and whimsicality in his Surrealist-inspired sculptures. Nycki Samuels earned the moniker "Tough Tiny Welder" on the road to artistic freedom, as she fought her way through the male-dominated world of industrial metalwork. Ts'uts'umutl Luke Marston began making jewellery when he was still a teenager, honing the skills of his craft at the same time as he was learning about the imagery and oral narratives of the Coast Salish Peoples. Combining a love of technology, fashion, and the industrial arts, Bev Petow has the remarkable ability to transform cold, hard steel into delicate-looking dresses. With over one hundred spectacular colour and black-and-white photographs of the artists and their works, this book is a stunning behind-the-scenes look at those who choose fire as their tool and metal as their raw material.

"Andrea Contos takes readers on a triumphant and terrifying journey, from fear and solitude to solidarity and vengeance. A complex and captivating thriller that kept me guessing at every turn." --Elle Cosimano, author of Finlay Donovan is Killing It We were like fire, the four of us. Catching each other's sparks until the flames grew, spread, raged beyond our control. We'll give them back the damage they left us with, burden them with the weight of our pain. We may be temporarily broken, but we will leave them forever charred. Ashes to ashes. It wasn't the kidnapping that ruined Cass Adams's life. It was the letters that came after. The pink envelopes that appear in her car, her locker, her bedroom. Notes from the man she escaped, telling her that he's always there, always watching. And that someday, he'll be back for her. The police say there's nothing they can do, and Cass resigns herself to live in fear until she reconnects with three old friends-three girls ready to exact vengeance on those who wronged them. But the deeper Cass digs, the more shocking the truth becomes, especially when she discovers that the person who ruined her life may be the only one who can save it.

"Both mainstream and movement history too often focus on the lives of 'great men.' But who really does the work of grassroots movement-building? Singer, activist, working mother, poet, photographer, and writer, Marianne Robinson is one of many women who have held up their 'half of the sky' in progressive movements. Her moving autobiography spans many decades of cultural and political activity in People's Songs, labor, women's and anti-war movements from the 1940s onward." --Suzanne Gordon, journalist, writer, and author of Nursing Against the Odds As a chronicle of Marianne Robinson's unconventional life, Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire is a fast-moving personal story that describes her multidimensional life of commitment, change, and creativity. Poems, photos, and graphic images also serve to illustrate her restless journey.