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by Douglas Ashby (Author)
When I first started writing Heroes and Giants, I thought it was going to be an easy task. My prime objective was simple, tell authentic and exciting accounts regarding the perils of the everyday life of emergency workers. Little did I know that many years later I would still be trying to convey the same modest message, firefighters and first responders are true "Heroes and Giants".
It wasn't until I completed my first manuscript that I realized that my private life was just as tumultuous as the days that I spent in the fire station. It was a real paradox; I could divorce myself from the harshness of seeing others in stressful circumstances, there was an endless stream of those, but I couldn't detach myself from family affairs. As the stories were almost completely written, I was forced to recognize that my life was a balance of similar adversities both in and outside of the fire department.
The pages of the calendar are turning much faster than I had anticipated, and now with many years under my belt as an old retired guy, I still have untold stories to tell.
Throughout the "Second Edition" I have added, as the late Paul Harvey would say, "The Rest of the Story". The original accounts continue with the same passion as they had when I first wrote them, however life is fickle and time will unforgivingly change lives. I thought that I had voiced a complete dialogue regarding those close to me, however human nature being what it is, their incredible and fascinating sagas continue.
Prime time television today has several "first responder" melodramas. I have to be straightforward and honest; I cannot compete with fantasy. Contained within the pages of this book are real accounts, of ordinary people, with sometimes devastating outcomes. The stories are authentic, and will make you laugh and sometimes cry, because real life is always more fascinating than the make believe. What is certain is that first responders live fascinating and exciting lives.
