ROBERT KERBECK

“The best kind of nonfiction – so visceral it feels like fiction.”

“An engrossing, thorough, and revealing portrait of a beloved beachside community confronting disaster.”

“A lucky break for any reader: an honest-to-god writer dropped in the center of the Malibu fire. Thrilling, well-researched, and occasionally light-hearted, this is a unique and special book.”

“Robert Kerbeck puts a human face on the type of tragedy that grabs headlines but then fades from our collective memory all-too-soon. Blending personal narrative and investigative research, Kerbeck shows us the real story of what happens when a community faces down disaster.”

“The name ‘Malibu’ has a lot of baggage-playground of the rich, birthplace of Gidget – but what Robert Kerbeck shows us is the real Malibu: a small town much like any other across America, economically diverse, and in the instance of the Woolsey Fire, betrayed by the very entities that were supposed to defend it. What you also see rising up out of the ashes is community, a new generation of leaders, and hope. Riveting and heartbreaking, but also inspiring.”

“Rather than focus on the enormity of Los Angeles County’s largest wildfire in recorded history, Robert Kerbeck takes a much more personal and thoroughly riveting approach, allowing the reader to see the Woolsey Fire through the eyes of individuals who lived through it. Each chapter tells a different story, and together they provide deep insight into the fire’s effect on one community.”