As the Ash Wednesday bushfires raged around her in a small Victorian town in February 1983, a young mother stood between her two young daughters and the massive fireball heading straight for them...
Ann tells her dramatic story with candour and disarming humour beginning with her working-class childhood growing up in a village in Lancashire, England.
Her fateful decision to marry the young Australian from Melbourne took her to the other side of the world for the adventure of a life time.
Twelve years later, her peaceful family life was shattered.
This story takes us far beyond the drama of Ash Wednesday.
Her reflections and insights are profoundly illuminating and inspirational.
This is a story about living and loving, about hope and determination, about facing your worst demons and staring them down.
The bushfires that ripped through Victoria and South Australia on Ash Wednesday in 1983 killed 75 people.
It was a deadly reminder to the tens of thousands who had moved out of the cities about how dangerous living in the bush could be.
As the bushfires raged around her in the small Victorian town of Upper Beaconsfield, a young mother stood between her two young daughters and the massive fireball heading straight for them.
Ann Fogarty sustained burns to 85% of her body and was left with horrendous injuries, giving her almost no chance of survival.
Unbelievably, her daughters were unscathed. Ann Fogarty's story is one of courage, love and, ultimately, extraordinary resilience.
She dedicates the book to her two daughters, Sarah and Rachel, describing them as 'my two wonderful reasons for fighting so hard.' And fight is what Ann has had to do, every day, for the last thirty years, since her life was forever changed in the Ash Wednesday fires of February 1983.
Forged with Flames will leave you astounded and amazed at what a human being can endure and withstand.
Heralded as a hero, Forged with Flames is the account of Ann's remarkable fight for life in the aftermath of the fires and the bumpy road towards recovery since.
Ann tells her dramatic story with candour and disarming humour beginning with her working-class childhood in Lancashire, England, where as a bright young student she gained a place in the local grammar school and, with great determination, became a top athlete in the school while battling painful shyness throughout her teens.
A romance with an Australian man brought her to the other side of the world and events she could never have imagined.
The story documents her struggle to recover emotionally, mentally and physically and the constant battle to survive.
The healing properties of faith, spirit and love are explored, as are the seemingly small acts of compassion that contributed to her recovery.
A huge fan, Ann was serenaded by James Galway in her hospital room in the Burns Unit.
A letter from Cliff Richard also gave her an enormous boost.
After the fires, she struggled to regain some semblance of her former life as mother, wife and active member of the local community, helped by a variety of people, all of whom were touched by her gentle spirit and grace.
