On the day that Lytton, BC, burned to the ground, Meghan Fandrich ran from the flames. She saw the village turn into a black pillar of smoke, and went home after a month-long evacuation to its ashes. Her house, on the edge of the fire, was saved; her community and her small business were not. Life as she knew it was gone, and somehow, in spite of the trauma and the ongoing onslaught of natural disasters, she had to keep going. Living. Surviving.

Burning Sage shares Fandrich’s deeply personal story of the fire, the ensuing trauma, and the path out of it. But it is also a human story, a universal story, of loneliness, fragility and beauty. The poems follow the arc of shock, fear, and anger, and the impossibility of single parenting in a burned-up town. They tell of a connection, a love, and the way that feeling understood can help us understand ourselves. The poems in Burning Sage share a vivid portrait of grief and heartbreak and, ultimately, of healing.

We invite you to gather together at the Alternator on September 20, from 7 - 8pm as author Meghan Fandrich reads excerpts from Burning Sage. Afterwards Fandrich will lead an engaged discussion with participants. In the wake of our recent experience with the devastating force of wildfires, this book of poems is sure to resonate with many.

Learn more about Meghan Fandrich here. Copies of Burning Sage are available online or at the reading.