Brendan McDonough's story about the events surrounding the Yarnell Hill Fire that claimed the lives of 19 young firefighters is sure to captivate readers who, even three years after the tragedy, are still curious about the lone survivor. Brendan doesn't sugarcoat the details of his life and is candid about the circumstances that led to his joining the Hotshots. He shares his dismay about having to move to Arizona --- a surfer dude who believed that “there was a whole lot of nothing east of Los Angeles.”

The story of Brendan's life before he joined the Granite Mountain Hotshots parallels many others who choose the easy path as soon as they are old enough to make choices: absent father, carefree mother, enabling grandparents, readily available drugs, felony conviction, loss of choices, depression, more attempts to escape reality. But, fortunately for Brendan, recovery and redemption are available to those willing to choose them. The birth of his daughter, combined with a horrible experience while getting high in a crack house, served to push him toward making the right choice.

"It is unusual for a 23-year-old to write a memoir. But Brendan McDonough had a very unusual story to tell, and he has done it well."

By this time, he had come to love the rugged land and the lifestyle of Prescott, Arizona. He was no longer snickering at cowboy hats and boots. Wanting to make something of his life, he took firefighting training and EMT classes, and was ready to make a fresh start. When an opening came up with the Hotshots, he applied and hoped for the best. Despite his felony conviction and suspended driver's license, he was hired. Eric Marsh, the leader of the Granite Mountain crew, was willing to give him the chance he needed.

The training that followed, the grueling five-mile runs, carrying 45-pound backpacks and the usual rookie humiliations did not dissuade him. Finally he was fit enough and ready. “One day, sooner or later, you'll come face-to-face with the natural world. And the natural world does not play by human rules.” Wildfires especially do not play by the rules. The Hotshots were called to fight them everywhere from Colorado to Minnesota.

On June 30, 2013, when a fire broke out on Yarnell Hill outside of Prescott, the Hotshot crew was well-experienced and ready to take it on. The men of Granite Mountain had fought many kinds of blazes throughout the fire season, yet nothing could have prepared them for what they were about to face. What began as a few “going-nowhere puffs of light gray smoke” would soon become a monster blaze, consuming everything in its path.

Brendan's recollections take the reader through the events leading up to the worst disaster that he and his brother Hotshots had ever faced. The outcome is known. Nineteen men lost their lives that day, and the one who remained was changed forever. The PTSD that followed, the unrelenting survivor's guilt, and the incident that finally led him to accept therapy all answer the questions that so many of us have had since that horrendous day.

It is unusual for a 23-year-old to write a memoir. But Brendan McDonough had a very unusual story to tell, and he has done it well.

Audiobook available, narrated by John Glouchevitch