After the Fire ─ A True Story of Friendship and Survival

Every so often we encounter a story that makes us cry and makes us strong, that makes us want to hug our children and call our old friends. This bestselling book captures just such a drama in all its heartrending drama. On January 19, 2000, a fire raged through a SetonHalldormitory, killing three students and injuring 58 others. Among the victims were Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos, roommates from poor neighborhoods who had made their families proud by getting into college. After the Fire is the story of Shawn and Alvaro's fight to recover from the worst damage St. Barnabas Hospital's burn unit had ever seen. It is the story of doctors and nurses who work with those terribly touched by fire. It is the story of mothers and fathers, of faith and family. And it is the story of the women who loved these men, who knew that real beauty is a thing not seen in mirrors.

Robin Gaby Fisher is a nationally acclaimed news feature writer with The Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey. She has won one Pulitzer Prize and has twice been a Pulitzer finalist.