LADDER FUELS is a novel about a wildfire in the Pacific Northwest and all the lives—human, animal, plant—it touches. Told through the perspectives of four women, including one firefighter, as well as parts from the eyes of the forest and fire itself, the story unfolds over the course of one destructive week in early September. All are impacted by the fire, but no one is only impacted by the fire, and each character grapples with their own concurrent personal crises. As the novel progresses, their stories begin to intertwine and layer, illustrating how interconnected we all are with each other and with the more-than-human world. The narrative follows a wildfire resulting from climate change and decades of fire suppression efforts, and demonstrates how even amidst devastation, hope and possibility remain. This document includes an excerpt from the first chapter, told from the firefighter Ashley’s perspective.
","abstract_html":"<p>LADDER FUELS is a novel about a wildfire in the Pacific Northwest and all the lives—human, animal, plant—it touches. Told through the perspectives of four women, including one firefighter, as well as parts from the eyes of the forest and fire itself, the story unfolds over the course of one destructive week in early September. All are impacted by the fire, but no one is <em>only</em> impacted by the fire, and each character grapples with their own concurrent personal crises. As the novel progresses, their stories begin to intertwine and layer, illustrating how interconnected we all are with each other and with the more-than-human world. The narrative follows a wildfire resulting from climate change and decades of fire suppression efforts, and demonstrates how even amidst devastation, hope and possibility remain. This document includes an excerpt from the first chapter, told from the firefighter Ashley’s perspective.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Anderson, Monica"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Jon Billman"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-04-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-04-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:24:36Z","subjects":["fiction","wildfire","climate change","feminism","ecocriticism"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/867","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Jon Billman"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Anderson, Monica"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2030-03-26T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["fiction","wildfire","climate change","feminism","ecocriticism"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/867"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["LADDER FUELS is a novel about a wildfire in the Pacific Northwest and all the lives—human, animal, plant—it touches. Told through the perspectives of four women, including one firefighter, as well as parts from the eyes of the forest and fire itself, the story unfolds over the course of one destructive week in early September. All are impacted by the fire, but no one is only impacted by the fire, and each character grapples with their own concurrent personal crises. As the novel progresses, their stories begin to intertwine and layer, illustrating how interconnected we all are with each other and with the more-than-human world. The narrative follows a wildfire resulting from climate change and decades of fire suppression efforts, and demonstrates how even amidst devastation, hope and possibility remain. This document includes an excerpt from the first chapter, told from the firefighter Ashley’s perspective.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Ladder Fuels"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Jon Billman"],"dc:creator":["Anderson, Monica"],"dc:date.available":["2030-03-26T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["LADDER FUELS is a novel about a wildfire in the Pacific Northwest and all the lives—human, animal, plant—it touches. Told through the perspectives of four women, including one firefighter, as well as parts from the eyes of the forest and fire itself, the story unfolds over the course of one destructive week in early September. All are impacted by the fire, but no one is only impacted by the fire, and each character grapples with their own concurrent personal crises. As the novel progresses, their stories begin to intertwine and layer, illustrating how interconnected we all are with each other and with the more-than-human world. The narrative follows a wildfire resulting from climate change and decades of fire suppression efforts, and demonstrates how even amidst devastation, hope and possibility remain. This document includes an excerpt from the first chapter, told from the firefighter Ashley’s perspective.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/867"],"dc:subject":["fiction","wildfire","climate change","feminism","ecocriticism"],"dc:title":["Ladder Fuels"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Fine Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:24:36Z"}