This book started so well but somewhere it got lost. My understanding was that it was about the impact on the wives & families when they lose a fireman. I maybe misunderstood the review I saw somewhere. Anyway I followed through with the women from the family tree then Mattie turned up, not part of it. I didn't see the women as strong women either they mostly appeared to be manipulating & dishonest to me. A strong start that moved into a dwindle.

Interesting story of an Irish family in New York who were firefighters or family of the firefighters. However there is a twist as the story as it is told from the viewpoint of the women in these lives, only one of which is a firefighter herself. It I told by the different women and moves around in time to link their history together. From the eighteen hundreds through 9/11 until almost 20 years after. These are strong women who made the most of their lives and those of their children,