Annie L. Chivers

Out of the Fire: Life from the Ashes Annie L. Chivers

In 1948, Annie Chivers's parents packed their meager belongings, gathered their six children, and set off from Pigeon Creek, Alabama, for Niagara Falls, where they hoped to start a new life filled with great possibilities. As the family settles into Hyde Park Village and begin to dream for the best, none of them have any idea of the impact their decision has just made on all of their lives.

In her poignant memoir, Annie details how she was just three years old in 1956 when her family received an eviction notice, just weeks before Christmas. Desperate and now homeless with ten children, Annie's father quickly seized an offer from the owner of the dilapidated Moonglow Hotel, who opened rooms for all the low-income housing evictees. But on November 16, 1957, his decision proved fatal when fire ravaged the hotel. Pulled from the flames by her sister who found her hiding under her crib, Annie is thrown from a second story window and miraculously survives. Unfortunately, eighteen others did not, including seven of her siblings.

Out of the Fire shares the heartbreaking, inspirational story of one woman's journey in the aftermath of losing nearly her entire family in a historical fire as she discovers that faith is knowing that God is always present-even during the worst of tragedies.