After the Fire

On January 19, 2000, a fire raged through Seton Hall University's freshman dormitory, killing three students and injuring 58 others. Among the victims were Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos, roommates from poor neighborhoods who made their families proud by getting into college. They managed to escape, but both were burned terribly. AFTER THE FIRE is the story of these young men and their courageous fight to recover from the worst damage the burn unit at Saint Barnabas hospital had ever seen. It is the story of the extraordinary doctors and nurses who work with the burned. It is the story of mothers and fathers, of faith and family and the invisible ties that bind us to each other. It is the story of the search for the arsonists--and the elaborate cover-up that nearly obscured the truth. And it is the story of the women who came to love these men, who knew that real beauty is a thing not seen in mirrors.

"After the Fire" debuts on New York Times bestseller list Sept. 14

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Watch Shawn, Alvaro and Robin on WCBS-TV, New York

Review in USA TODAY
"...you almost certainly will put this book down after every chapter or two, if only briefly, to sigh over the unimaginable pain and suffering, to dry your eyes and steady your emotions. Then you'll read on, hoping against odds for a triumphant ending."

Review in Minneapolis Star Tribune
"The book is a riveting and intimate read. That these two men survived is almost a miracle. That Fisher was there to document it is our good fortune. "

Review in Rocky Mountain News
"Final word: In 2001, Fisher was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for this series but didn't win. She was robbed."

STARRED REVIEW-Publisher’s Weekly. June 30, 2008
After the Fire: A True Story of Love and Survival Robin Gaby Fisher. Little, Brown, $24.99 (224p) ISBN 978-0-316-06621-1
Three students died and 58 were injured in the January 2000 fire that arsonists set in the student lounge of Seton Hall University in New Jersey. Newark Star Ledger reporter Fisher tells the story of the two “most badly burned” survivors (roommates Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos), proceeding from the devastating fire through the grueling medical treatment into their life-affirming future. A medical education and a detective story unfold within this consistently dramatic account, as Fisher joins a reporter's curiosity and objectivity to a near-familial access to the principals. Unsparing in her description of the hard path to recovery (“The gruesome nature of the work meant that few ever became old-timers in the occupation of treating burns”), Fisher takes the reader inside Saint Barnabas Burn Center, where the charismatic director of the burn unit, Hani Mansour; the nurses; the physical and occupational therapists work miracles, celebrating victories and agonizing over setbacks. Honest and intimate in her account of the stress of “distraught parents,” the intense strain upon marriages and relationships, the prolonged suffering and multiple surgeries of the survivors and the evolving friendship of the accidental roommates, Fisher conveys a deep respect and compassion for all involved—except the arsonists. She succeeds in making what might have been yesterday's news into today's inspiration. (Aug.)

Excerpt from New York Daily News

Book Nook Club review
"After the Fire is definitely a winner."

Other projects

Last chance high

In 2004 her series "Last Chance High," about a special school for troubled teens, was also a finalist for a Pulitzer. The series received the Nieman Foundation's 2005 Taylor Family Award for Fairness in Newspapers.

Order the book
from Amazon
Link One| You can order "After the Fire" on Amazon
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Read the series
Link One| Read the series "After the Fire" from the Star-Ledger that was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for feature writing.
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