The Burning Side

by Sarah Damoff

When a house fire forces April, her husband Leo, and their two young children out into the night, the blaze ignites more than just ash. The family flees to April's childhood home in Dallas, where her spirited parents and extended Russo clan provide both refuge and complication. As they sift through literal and emotional ruins, the novel alternates between April’s perspective—burdened by motherhood, postpartum depression, and self‑blame—and Leo’s, haunted by his own abandonment and a looming divorce. Interwoven flashbacks reveal the histories of both families, including early‑onset Alzheimer’s affecting April’s father and a past suicide that still lingers. The fire becomes a metaphor for a marriage on the brink, exposing generational patterns of love, loss, and resilience. Through braided timelines, Sarah Damoff crafts a tender, multigenerational family drama that explores memory, inheritance, and what can be salvaged after everything burns.