This is a riveting, gut-wrenching, factual account of a family dealing with a tragic event and its effects. In 1988, a rapidly burning fire destroyed a modest home in Orillia, Ontario. The writer Jonathan Rose has previously published several books and is an avid traveller. He is also the stepbrother of Joey Philion, who barely survived the fire at age 14. His writing is very descriptive and doesn't flinch when writing about all the sad and gory details. He chronicles very disturbing events, such as procedures in a hospital's burn unit.

At the time of the fire, the parents, the mother, Linda and step-father Matt, left early in the morning on a short drive to take Matt to work. The boys, Joey and his younger brother Danny were asleep in bed. His mother would soon return to make their breakfast. Danny runs to a neighbour, saying Joey was trapped inside the house, now an inferno. They found Joey lying among broken glass in a snowbank. His clothing and body were so severely burned that nearby trees and a swing started to burn.
Joey later claimed that he jumped through a second-storey window engulfed in a ball of fire and that he rushed into the flames looking for his mother. In fact, the house only had one storey, and he knew his mother was not at home. He had awakened early and started the fire in the kitchen by accident.
The paramedics who arrived and the doctors at the hospital did not expect him to survive the night. Joey sustained 4th and 5th-degree burns to 95% of his body. He did survive and endured excruciating pain until he died in 2021 at age 48. He was transferred back and forth between the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and the Shriners Children's Hospital in Boston. The mother was a tower of strength in her determination for Joey to survive. She remained at his side in the burn units of the hospitals. Neither hospital had witnessed anyone surviving all the many medical procedures and operations he had to endure. Many of the treatments were experimental. Linda was told there was little chance of him living through many procedures. Constantly at his side, rarely sleeping, she was described as obsessive, irrational, and fanatical. She would loudly disagree with medical professionals about her son's treatment and put so much effort into Joey's health and welfare that Matt and Danny felt neglected. She turned to alcohol abuse and two packs of cigarettes a day.

Matt and Linda always hoped to move to Vancouver Island with the boys. Matt was very much in love with her despite her erratic behaviour. The news reporters swarmed every family move, adding to their misery. The news media proclaimed Joey a hero for saving Danny and trying to find his mother in the blaze. He received awards and gifts from celebrities in music, acting, sports, aviation, and politics and fundraisers were held on his behalf. Citizens of Orillia started a trust fund, and a fine home was built for the family by local tradesmen who donated free labour. The house had an elevator for Joey and a pool for his treatments. After his feet needed to be amputated, he received a motorized wheelchair. No one had asked if they wanted the house built on the site of the one that had burned to the ground or if they might prefer to move elsewhere. There was a lot of hostility when they suggested selling the "House That Love Built" and realizing their dream by moving to B.C. They were considered ungrateful, and the town's donors turned against them. Rumours spread that they were squandering Joey's trust fund, but they had no access to it.

With Joey out of hospital, he needed much support for his various conditions. He was on a massive amount of pills for pain, infections, depression, muscle spasms and insomnia. He required help to dress his wounds and be lifted. Much of this strenuous work fell on Matt. He and Danny had a cottage on Vancouver Island, which was destroyed in a flood. Now, the story becomes very bizarre.

Joey's biological father was a man named Wally. He had been a heroin addict but now reappeared in their lives. He was now reformed and a born-again Christian with cult-like followers. He was with Linda and Danny while Joey was in the Boston hospital again. When Matt became aware that something peculiar was happening, he was upset and angry. He rushed off to Boston, prepared to fight Wally, kidnap his family and bring them back to Canada. Matt was arrested and ordered to get out of the USA or go to prison. The boys wanted to return, but Linda stayed behind, being brainwashed into believing Joey's feet would grow back, that he was the new Messiah, and that he would walk the earth converting people into the cult. The boys wanted nothing to do with Wally and were glad to escape him.

Joey was now married, and they lived in the house built for him. The citizens of Orillia, who had donated money, time, and effort, were angry about the house's deterioration. The nursing assistants were not paid, phone and electric bills were neglected, property taxes were unpaid, the elevator, wheelchair and sprinkling system were broken, and Joey and his wife relied on the food bank. He was no longer regarded as a hero, and there were debates in the media about whether to reveal his lies. Very little money remained in the trust fund. Where did it go?

Danny had died from overdosing on Joey's pills while partying. Linda died from lung cancer with Matt at her side. Matt suffers from PTSD.
I found this non-fiction book tragic, horrifying and sadder than any recent work of fiction.
Thanks to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for my copy. The date of publication will be February 20.

I'll be honest, I didn't finish the entire book. Such an interesting and horrifying subject matter, made nearly unreadable by writing style.

I had never heard of this case before I read the book but it was a very interesting read. I had no idea of the treatment severe burns victims have to endure, it sounded absolutely harrowing.
A really tragic story, and so interesting hearing about the family and how they had to cope with the publicity and the press intrusion.

A fourteen-year old boy severely burned and not expected to live, but he does. You feel sympathy for him, but it wears thin. We’re told right away that he lied. He didn’t run back into the house to look for his mother, whom he knew wasn’t home.
The media intrusion was a nightmare. Everyone in town had their opinions on how the family should behave, and moving to Vancouver was not acceptable after they received a free new house.
The family’s lifestyles and choices over the years were not admirable. The writing style wasn’t appreciated, jumping around, using phrases like “perhaps the fire was incensed at Joey’s audacity for daring to challenge it.” I didn’t enjoy this book.

Definitely a tragic story but the way it was told was a little mundane. It was just date entries with what happened and I get that, I just would have liked a little more feeling and when I first requested it, I thought the author was the victim. Just a sad story.

Thank you Dundurn Press and Goodreads for an ARC of this book.


Jonathan Rose beautifully and accurately described the eerie atmosphere of a burn ward. I know because my brother was burned badly in a fire. I spent a lot of time there and it's unlike any other part of the hospital. I'll never forget what I saw and heard while sitting bedside and in the waiting room. My brother died a few years later with the fire being a contributing factor. Like Jonathan, my family was dysfunctional. I had siblings who took all the attention of my parents. I've also been around substance abuse. So, even though the situation in my family was different much of this book was relatable to me.

I was fascinated in this study of what happens to a family after a tragedy. Linda and Mike were not wealthy or well educated. They did not always make good choices. I suspect that in these aspects they're like most of us.

I was dumbstruck when Jonathan explained how "The House that Love Built" was constructed and placed on the same lot as the house that burned without the approval of Linda or Joey. They conceded only because they were not offered other options that would work for them. I wonder how many other people are railroaded into good deeds that don't completely suit their situation and are forced to smile and act happy on the morning news.

Overall, this is a well written study in what happens after the media leaves a tragedy. I would have easily given four stars if the narrative was not occasionally jarring. I found this to be especially true with the story of what happened to Joey's younger brother. The brother's disability wasn't even brought up until late in the book. I think I would've been able to put Linda's actions in better context if I knew of Danny's own medical struggles.

This book is profoundly sad. So much hardship fell onto this one family. It is a worthy read.

Mind boggling story.
Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.