These corrections are humbling. They were brought to my attention by my sister-in-law Leanne. I wrote in the book I couldn’t bring myself to discuss the details with her and my brother, but I should have. She was very polite and kind about it, but still.
On page 269, I wrote that the fire chief put Jed and Leanne in his truck. Leanne says the chief actually drove them in Leanne’s vehicle.
Regarding page 273, Leanne says that although she was carrying Jake during her initial firefighting class, he was born shortly thereafter and she thinks the instructor was actually referring to his surprise when Leanne turned up one week after Jake’s birth, fire gear in hand, ready to continue and finish the class. Still — I think we can all agree — remarkable.
Finally, Leanne says she is not sure there was a heartbeat.
There are writerly lessons in all of this. But above all, I want to do right by my family, because they are patient with me and did not ask to be (in fact would in most cases prefer to avoid being) written about. That Leanne would take the time to read something so personally painful and then respond in such a thoughtful manner only reinforces something I try to remind myself of daily: before the writing, before the books, before any of it, there is family. And I’m blessed with a fine one.
