Pauline Roller was the youngest of eight children growing up in a small New England town in a very loving but hectic two-parent family. Not wealthy, the close-knit family shared a lot of quality time together. Weekend camping trips, swimming, fishing, picnicking, and just having fun summed up her memories of a kid growing up. Her mother devoted countless hours sewing clothes, baking bread, and preparing the best meals her father’s salary could afford. Her father was a tinsmith at a local mill for nearly fifty years and never missed a day’s work, even when ill. Attending church every Sunday and special holidays was an important part of her everyday life. Up until the time her mother died of medical complications, she considered her childhood very typical, albeit one sheltered from the outside world.

At the time of her loss, she was a shy, awkward fifteen-year-old student in the only French-speaking Catholic high school in town. Despite the loss of her mother, her father was there to guide her through difficult and trying times. Four years after her graduation, she married her high school sweetheart. Less than nine months after the ceremony, she and her husband were involved in a tragic house fire that took the life of her last parent and severely wounded both newlyweds. The tragedy and aftermath are the subjects of this book and forever changed her life. The ensuing years were not kind and besides bringing two wonderful boys into the world, she and her husband eventually divorced. She moved on and six years later married her soul mate. She had a successful career with a large New England computer company and later as a successful real estate agent and broker in New England and later in Florida. Although rarely speaking of her experience after the tragic fire, she labored for years to create this book. Her goal was to see it published and shared with others who might benefit from her story. Sadly, she passed away after a long fight with lung disease before seeing the book published. Her husband picked up the task to ensure it was published.

May she rest in peace.