Out of the Fires
A Journal of Resilience and Recovery After Disaster
Colleen Larmour author Carrie Lara author
Format:Hardback
Publisher:American Psychological Association
Published:4th Jul '23
£15.99
Supplier delay - available to order, but may take longer than usual.
A young boy learns resilience after a fire devastates his home and neighborhood in Out of the Fires, inspiring others to recover.
In Out of the Fires, a young boy faces the aftermath of a devastating fire that obliterates his home and community. This poignant tale explores his journey towards resilience and recovery, highlighting the emotional and physical challenges he encounters. As he navigates his new reality, he learns valuable lessons about strength, hope, and the importance of rebuilding not just structures, but also his spirit.
The narrative unfolds through a combination of heartfelt journal entries, drawings, and news clippings, providing readers with a multifaceted perspective on the impact of natural disasters. The boy's reflections serve as a powerful reminder that healing is a gradual process, filled with ups and downs. His story resonates with anyone who has faced loss, illustrating that while life may never return to its previous state, it can still be meaningful and fulfilling.
Out of the Fires also includes practical coping strategies and resources aimed at helping others affected by similar tragedies. The end matter offers insights into cultivating resilience, making this book not only a personal journey but also a valuable guide for those seeking to rebuild their lives after adversity. Through his experiences, the boy ultimately discovers that he possesses an inner strength that can guide him through even the darkest times.
The aftermath of a natural disaster becomes an educational narrative.
Narrated by a boy coming back to school following a wildfire that canceled classes for two weeks, this book is intended to help young people grappling with similar events. The first section deals with the return to school in paragraphs broken up by related, colored pencil–esque images. The boy learns strategies for dealing with trauma (writing, drawing, taking deep breaths). It’s not until the second section that readers discover exactly what happened, though the author’s introduction details the 2017 California wildfires that inspired the book. This section describes the fire and the boy and his family’s evacuation, giving readers a child’s-eye view that, amid the chaos, grounds itself in people’s kindness. The narrator’s reaction to the fire evolves over time; sometimes he feels angry, other times sad and lost. Moments of frustration are conveyed, too: “My emotions exploded,” he says, alongside an image of a mushroom cloud. However, seeing his friends again makes him feel happy; the child’s emotional journey will reassure both young people and adults. Interspersed news clippings describe what is happening in the community at large, though the narrator mostly focuses on his personal journey. At the end, however, he discusses worldwide disasters, and he and his classmates send encouraging messages to kids in Australia, where wildfires also raged.
-- KiISBN: 9781433840692
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
64 pages