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After the Fire: A True Story of Love and Survival | 
 enlarge | Authors: Fisher, Robin Gaby
Creator: To Be Announced (narrator)
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks, Inc.
Category: Book
List Price: $44.95
Buy New: $34.16
You Save: $10.79 (24%)
New (12) Used (1) from $28.94
Rating:  15 reviews
Media: Audio Cassette
Edition: Unabridged Library
Pages: 5
Number Of Items: 5
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 9.8 x 7.1 x 1
ISBN: 1433244349
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN: 9781433244346
ASIN: 1433244349
Publication Date: August 1, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
When a fire raged through a college dormitory, killing or injuring sixty-one students, Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos survived but were both burned terribly. This is the story of the struggle for survival of these extraordinary young men.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
One of the best books I've read in a very long time... August 26, 2008
K. C. Williams (Leesburg, VA United States)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
I LOVED this book. It's the true story of two young men, terribly burned in a dormitory fire at Seton Hall University a few years back. Living overseas at the time of the fire, I had no knowledge this tragedy ever occurred; but I bought the book on the recommendation of a friend and immediately found that I couldn't put it down.
It's an incredibly well-written story that will draw you into the lives of these two courageous young men and the medical staff who helped bring them back from the brink of death.
I was completely moved by this story and it touched my heart in a way that no book ever has. This is easily one of my favorite books of all time.
Buy this book August 27, 2008
Brian H. Horton (Long Beach Island, N.J.)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
Buy this book. Robin Gaby Fisher takes you on the heart-wrenching and heart-warming journey of two young men, who nearly died in a fire at their dorm. People magazine got it right in its four-star review of the book, saying in part: " While the descriptions of the burn treatment are horrific, the revelation that the fire was ignited by two pranksters who nonchalantly partied afterward is heartbreaking. Unimaginably moving - readers will want to keep a box of tissues at handy - and deeply compassionate." I agree, I know I used up my fair share of tissues, too, and I couldn't put it down until I'd read the last page. - marilyn and brian
Review September 1, 2008
Cheryl K (CO)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
After the Fire: A True Story of Friendship and Survival is based on true events. It is under sad and unfortunate events that this story comes about. The day was January 19th, 2000, a day that no one will ever forget. On this fateful day a fire spread throughout the freshman dormitory halls of Seton Hall University. The fire claimed young three lives and injured many more. Robin Gaby Fisher tells the story of two room mates Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos and the angels of Saint Barnabas Hospital, who helped saved these two friends.
After the Fire: A True Story of Friendship and Survival makes you feel raw, heart-wrenching emotions of sadness, joy and triumphant. After the Fire: A True Story of Friendship and Survival is such a powerful book that it is beyond words on how to explain it. I credit this fact dooly to Robin Gaby Fisher's talent as not only an author and writer but as an amazing story teller. I was blown away from the first moment I picked this book up to read it. If Mrs. Fisher's goal was to show how with lots of strength, determination as well as setting a goal for yourself you can achieve anything; then Mrs. Fisher accomplished that with After the Fire: A True Story of Friendship and Survival. If there is ever one book you must read in your life then it has got to be After the Fire: A True Story of Friendship and Survival by Robin Gaby Fisher.
 Excellent beginning, Weaker Ending September 7, 2008
Katrina Vainisi (River Forest, Illinois)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
In her book "After the Fire," Robin Gaby Fisher tells of the tragic fire that took place at Seton Hall University in January 2000. This fire claimed 3 lives and left 58 injured, the worst off, Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos, are the subjects of this story. Even though Shawn and Alvaro had only met as roommates a few months earlier, the fire clearly defined their relationship--like two war buddies who could not survive on the outside world without each other, each one feeling guilty they had let the other down.
This story is also about the doctors, nurses, and physical therapists in the burn department at St. Barnabas Hospital in New Jersey. It was at this hospital in which Fisher's writing was at its finest. It was clearly demonstrated that the staff in the the burn unit were unlike any other in the entire hospital--they were closer, defined by the constant tragedy and trauma that they witnessed. Nurse Kathe Conlon states, "If you can't become part of the team, you don't last. In the course of a day burn nurses could deal with child abuse, elder abuse, or a whole family wiped out by fire. They saw babies scorched into near skeletons and young mothers who were burned beyond recognition trying to save their children" (p.81). When Fisher describes the procedure known as "debridement"--a method in which the burn patients would have their open wounds srubbed, the raw emotion of the patients and nurses was almost unbearable. After one particularly difficult debridement session with an eight-year-old boy who received burns after playing with matches, Nurse Sue Manzo broke down in tears. Fisher states, "Most nurses took pride in being stoic. Not in the burn unit. There, no one was afraid to show emotion, and when they did, the others always rallied to support them" (84). It became clear how dedicated, compassionate and selfless these doctors and nurses truly are.
But the story ultimately belongs to Shawn and Alvaro--Shawn with the strong, dedicated mother, and Alvaro with the over-bearing, immature, emotionally weak mother. Fisher drew such deep contrasts between these wo women. One can only wonder how Daisy Llanos felt about her portrayal in this book. As a journalist, she had gained "unfettered access" to the burn unit at St. Barnabas and one of the most powerful scenes in the entire book is when Alvaro looks at his face for the first time in the mirror, with Shawn at his side.
It is when Alvaro and Shawn are both out of the hospital that Fisher's writing falls apart. It seems as if she needs to hurry up and end their story once they are out in the real world. But all we readers can do is hope and pray for these two young men who have literally been to hell and back. And while Fisher certainly did not want to present too much information on the boys who started the fire--they were clearly not the focus of the story--she took way too long to describe the extent of the investigation.
Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos have certainly endured a lifetime of pain, but instead of turning their pain inward, they have both decided to persevere. One can draw strength from the powerful words of Shawn Simons, "Sometimes I think I am one of God's angels, sent down to do good. Maybe to help people who are not as strong as I am" (p.226). It is clear that both Shawn and Alvaro truly are angels.
One of the most moving stories that I have ever read November 7, 2008
L. Jonsson (Charleston, SC United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The book "After the fire" is one of the most heartfelt, moving stories that I have ever read. It is the story of the fire at Seton Hall University's (in New Jersey) freshman dormitory that left 58 people injured and 3 people dead. Among the 58 people injured were roomates Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos. The book concentrates on them and their comeback from being severly injured. Both were severely burned, and required extensive stays in the hospital (Alvaro also went to a rehabilitation center)before they were able to return to society. Their casual friendship turns into a deep bond as they encounter their setbacks in re-entering the world together.
This book moved me to tears several times as it described what Alvaro and Shawn had to go through to get to where they are today. There is a special place in heaven for the victims of burns, as well as for the Doctors and nurses who choose to treat burn victims. "After the fire" introduces you to many memorable characters in the hospitals who are truly unsung heros. It also discusses the story of the detectives who finally bring the arsonists to justice in their trial in 2007.
This book has been my favorite read of 2008 so far. You will not be able to put it down. I hope the author, Robin Gaby Fisher, writes more books. Her first one has been unforgettable.
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