Status Updates From The Fire That Will Not Die

"Some people thought I had been brain damaged; some thought I was crippled; some thought I was blind. It seemed as if I were not hurt enough. People wanted it to be more" (146).

"Many years after that summer, I met a woman on a bus who asked if I was MIchele McBride. I said, 'Yes,' and she started to scream, 'Why did you live and my son die?'" (142).

"Through the fire and its aftermath, I learned that disaster does not breed those strong, jolly, humble heroes that we read about it newspapers and books. Real survivors experience anger, panic, jealousy, guilt, self-doubt -- all those feelings people never like to talk about, but which are as important and as powerful as bravery" (ix).