Inflamed

WINNER OF THE 2023 IRE BOOK AWARD The dramatic story of hundreds of senior citizens left in the path of a ferocious firestorm and what the quest for accountability reveals about the increasing risks to our most vulnerable population. “A harrowing saga that pits corporate pusillanimity against dogged courage under the most difficult circumstances...in Belden and Gullixson’s gripping esposé. There’s cowardice in this dramatic narrative, but at heart it’s about ordinary people displaying extraordinary grace under extreme pressure, all conveyed in intense, atmospheric prose.... The result is a moving re-creation of a nightmarish disaster that tested the character of all those in its path.” —Kirkus starred review “…a powerful work of investigative journalism about a particularly vulnerable segment of the population…. Alongside an engrossing account of the emergency as it unfolded in Sonoma County, Belden and Gullixson provide a definitive account of management’s woefully inadequate response at the two sister facilities. Their findings are a lesson to other care facilities—here’s what not to do.” —San Francisco Chronicle