Scribner Book Company
Wildfire Days: A Woman, a Hotshot Crew, and the Burning American West
Couldn't load pickup availability
In the exhilarating spirit of Wild and A Walk in the Park, an adventure-filled memoir of one woman's struggle to succeed as a wildland firefighter on an elite, male-dominated crew as they battle some of the fiercest wildfires in the West.
When Kelly Ramsey drives over a California mountain pass to join an elite firefighting crew, she's terrified that she won't be able to keep up with the intense demands of the job. Not only will she be the only woman on this hotshot crew and their first in ten years, she'll also be among the oldest. As she trains relentlessly to overcome the crew's skepticism and gain their respect, megafires erupt across the West, posing an increasing danger both on the job and back home. In vivid prose that evokes the majesty of Northern California's forests, Kelly takes us on the ground to see how major wildfires are fought and to lay bare the psychological toll, the bone-deep weariness, and the unbreakable camaraderie that emerge in the face of nature's fury.
Despite the wear and tear of her rookie year in fire, Kelly gears up for a second season, determined to prove that not only can a woman survive this work, she can excel. But when her plans to marry her partner start to crumble and sparks fly with a fellow crew member, Kelly wrestles with whether she's truly outgrown the self-destructive patterns she's learned from her father, whose drinking and itinerant ways haunt her. And as the season wears on, she discovers how tenuous "belonging" can be amid ever-changing crew dynamics.
In this vivid, visceral, and intimate memoir, Kelly wrestles with the immense power of fire for both destruction and renewal, confronted with the questions: Which fires do you fight, and which do you let burn you clean?
Share
Book Details
ISBN:
9781668031476
EAN:
1668031477
Binding:
Hardcover
Pages:
352
Authors:
Kelly Ramsey
Publisher:
Scribner Book Company
Published Date: 2025-17-06
View full details
This is an achingly beautiful book, gorgeously written. Kelly's vulnerability and introspection shine throughout the book, and she is most introspective about her own humanity. You don't have to be a wildland firefighter or know much about wildfires to love this book. As a former wildland firefighter, though, Ramsey brilliantly captures the many aspects of the job -- the physical demands, mental challenges, and navigating the extremely demanding work with our personal relationships. Her writing is honest, candid, sad, and funny. I found myself nodding my head "Yes, she nailed this part!" and also shedding tears when she deftly invites the reader into her pain. Buy this book for yourself and the young women in your life.
This is gritty, fascinating look at the life of a wildland firefighter and inadvertently a reflection on the costs of climate change. Ramsey relates her life and how she came to work two seasons as a hotshot. Rich with technical details, she also conveys the sweat, the adrenaline, the grind, the exhilaration, and the craving to belong to the team as “one of the guys”. It is an amazingly difficult job, made even harder by trying to prove oneself as a woman in a male dominated profession. My favorite quote from the book was “That’s just fire. You love it. You hate it. You feel everything about it. That never changes.”
This memoir had both thrill and heart. Not only are you transported into the underbelly of the wildfire fighting world, but you are taken on a powerful journey of self- discovery and belonging. Ramsey’s voice was honest, engaging, and inspiring. Despite having no prior knowledge about wildfire fighters, I was hooked and couldn’t put this book down. Highly highly recommend!!!
Wildfire Days is an honest and gripping book that pulled me in from the first page. Through the author’s personal story, I gained a deeper understanding of the vital (often overlooked) role firefighting plays in this country.
This book is beautifully written. It is very moving, I was on the verge of tears several times. Kelly shares her story so selflessly, I felt like I was there. I learned a lot about what hot shots endure for such little pay, and how we need to manage our forests so much better. I love how Kelly weaves past experiences into current trials and how strong she is. Kelly is a great example for men and women. Highly recommend this book.