My Lost Brothers

In this gripping memoir, the sole survivor of the disastrous 2013 fire in Yarnell, Arizona recalls the natural disaster that took the lives of 19 “hotshots—firefighters trained specifically to battle wildfires.Brendan McDonough was on the verge of becoming an inveterate heroin addict when he decided to enlist in Granite Mountain, an elite hotshot crew of wildland firefighters based in Arizona. Thanks to his crew’s firm but loving encouragement, McDonough made the cut and battled many extreme blazes alongside his newfound “brothers,” receiving a life with purpose as part of a team. Then, on June 30, 2013, during a fire at which McDonough was serving as lookout, a freak inferno trapped and killed all 19 members of his crew. My Lost Brothers traces McDonough’s minute-by-minute account of witnessing his fellow hotshots’ brave, selfless battle—as well as its aftermath.