Sarah Burning

by Tim Ritter

Acrid smoke filled the valley with the odors of burnt home, burnt hopes, burnt dreams, burnt flesh. On a cold night, in the short span of less than 5 minutes, the Ritter family crossed a threshold from which there was no return. Peaceful slumber in the early morning hours of October 27th, 1959, quickly became madness and horror.Cruel blue, orange and yellow flames leapt high into the air casting an eerie glow on three blackened and blistered survivors huddled on the ground under a towering oak. Barely visible, save for the ever-present mist emanating from their nostrils as they panted and shivered, they suffered together in a singular wailing cry.Nearby, barely conscious, broken and bleeding in the bottom of the overgrown and thorny ravine, lay another blackened and burned survivor. Worst of all, among the horrifying remains of the once-proud simple farmhouse, somewhere beneath the blaze and collapsed beams, lay two burning bodies, their screams at last silenced.How do you continue with life when you’ve lost everything? How do you face each day when you know it means more pain from the burns? How do you get past the guilt, knowing you lived, and others died? How do you silence the echo in your head; the sound of him screaming your name as he burned alive?After more than 60 years, the story of the survivors is ready to be told…You’re invited to learn the history of this real-life tragedy, within the pages of Sarah Burning.

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 27, 2021

About the author

A native of Springfield, Missouri, Tim Ritter discovered writing and public speaking early in life. By age 13, he wrote two children’s adventure books, several plays and created his own comic strip which eventually found its way to his junior high school newspaper. He also discovered that he liked being on stage, and how people tended to listen when he spoke into a microphone.

Throughout his professional career as a mechanical engineer, Tim wrote articles for trade magazines and was the featured speaker at hundreds of seminars across the country.

Tim lives outside Fair Grove, Missouri, with his wife, Lisa, writing full time and speaking to civic groups and organizations on a variety of topics. He is a board member of the Springfield Writers Guild, and a member of the Douglas County Historical Society, Ozarks Genealogical Society, and the Poe Studies Association.

Tim can be contacted via his website at timritter.net, and can be found on Facebook as Author Tim Ritter, on Instagram as authortimritter, and Youtube as TimothyRitter.

Reviews

[Susan Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Very heartbreaking and gutwrenching. The author truly made me feel like I was inside the farmhouse on that awful night. I also liked how he followed through with each of the survivors and other family members involved. Truly a great read.

[Book Reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarah Burning by Tim Ritter is a true story that takes place in the 50s and 60s. It centers around the life of a family who experienced a fire on October 27th, 1959. This memoir shares the horror they endured that dark morning and the aftermath that the survivors faced. This emotional book starts with the aforementioned fire. Then it jumps back in time, sharing some of the back stories of the Ritter family. The introduction hooks the reader as you turn each page, hoping the author didn’t wait until the last chapter to reveal what happened in the fire. Instead, the author shares the story of the Ritter family, their daily life, and their journey as individuals after the deadly fire that altered the rest of their lives.

Although the book describes each character’s inner feelings, it is written using the stylistics of a diary and tells the reader what happened on significant days in the Ritter family. Life back then, although not that long ago, was completely different, and the pace of life is different nowadays too. Reading about the Ritter family gives the reader a welcomed moment to take a step away from all that is busy and technology controlled. This slower pace of life is also reflected in the pacing of the narrative. Information about the event and the family is revealed in a way that allows the readers to fully absorb the situation and grasp at the emotions the family is feeling at the time.

Sarah Burning is the emotional biography of one family and the plight of those that survived this devastating fire. Their gripping story tells of overcoming the loss of those they love, healing from the burns, and learning how to start over when everything is literally left in ashes. This survival story will touch the hearts of readers and leave them with a sense of hope that they can overcome tragedy in life.

[Floyd Winingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting Account of a Families Survival After a Tragedy

First my sympathies to this family. This book is riveting. I was spellbound from the first page and couldn't put it down. The writing was engaging and the account of the fire was told with so much compassion. Tim's portrayal of this family's strength to overcome the trials and tribulations experienced during the fire and for many years after is a testiment to his family. I sincerely hope this book becomes a best seller, allowing everyone to see the strength of the entire family especially the matriarch Sarah.

[Steve]

Sarah Burning is a gripping, realistic chronicle of a horrific tragedy. Tim Ritter skillfully puts the reader inside the story; it is impossible not to feel the powerful emotions right along with the family as they struggle through the nearly impossible challenges of loss and recovery. Intense and challenging at times, you’ll keep turning the pages in a symbolic, sympathetic act of support as you pull for the Ritters to restore their lives. This book is a remarkable achievement of storytelling and historical research.

[Noellasue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the is very well written.

While it is heart-wrenching and sad, his description early on of the terrible fire that took three lives seems so real, I almost felt like I was there. I cannot imagine the pain and memories this family had to endure.

Thankfully, physical healing followed while emotional healing was a bit slower. I really appreciated the picture synopsis of each family member at the end.

[Shirley McCann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was hard to read. Not because of the writing, but because of the very descriptive fire that killed part of a family. I had to put it down at one time, and pick it up again later to finish.

Great read. But heartbreaking, while it also told of a family struggling to survive a horrific ordeal.

[Margarite Stever · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book borne of a tragic event

This book takes a tragic event and focuses not only on the tragedy itself but also on the aftermath of healing and struggling to continue on. I haven't cried over a book like this in years. I cannot fathom the amount of research that went into this book.

[Rick Mapson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The struggle and triumph of life

Sarah Burning was a very hard read that you must read. It will expose your heart to pain, loss, and long suffering that a family went through. Sticking together, they cared for and worked together to create a legacy of the
triumph of life.

[Diane Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a story! Great writing, had me engaged to the very end.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

My heart 😭

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart wrenching

[Joy Kidney · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the book arrived, I couldn't put it down. It's a family story that needed telling and sharing. It must have been challenging to experience the scenes while writing them, but the reader is drawn into the fire, the disaster, the day-by-dayness of the aftermath.

Sarah herself was such an amazing woman, hopeful and resilient in spite of her tough journey, even enduring clinical trials to help advance burn treatments. A riveting and incredible story.

[Andrew Tarbox · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG - this is an amazing true story about a family tragedy and how it both brought the family together and caused so much physical and mental pain. This is a page turner and amazing great read. Strongly recommend!!!!!