Brendan McDonough was on the verge of becoming a hopeless, inveterate heroin addict when he, for the sake of his young daughter, decided to turn his life around. He enlisted in the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a crew of elite hotshot firefighters based in Prescott, Arizona. Their superintendent, Eric Marsh, was in a desperate crunch after four hotshots left the crew, and seeing a glimmer of promise in the skinny would-be recruit, he took a chance on the unlikely McDonough, and the chance paid off. Despite the crew’s skepticism, and thanks in large part to Marsh’s firm but loving encouragement, McDonough unlocked a latent drive and dedication, going on to successfully battle a number of blazes and eventually win the confidence of the men he came to call his brothers.

Then, on June 30, 2013, while McDonough – “Donut” as he’d been dubbed by his crew – served as lookout, they confronted a freak 3,000-degree inferno in nearby Yarnell, Arizona. The relentless firestorm ultimately trapped his hotshot brothers, tragically killing all 19 of them within minutes. Nationwide, it was the greatest loss of firefighter lives since the 9/11 attacks.

After the unfathomable loss of that day, McDonough suffered from seemingly insurmountable bouts of depression and Post-Traumatic Stress. But the light of hope that inspired him to keep living in one of his darkest moments — his daughter who needed him — inspired the firefighter to fight on against depression and inspire others to find their best selves, even if that means often looking beyond the self. McDonough is an uplifting speaker, whose courage to find support at his weakest has inspired others to find their own tribes of support. Building a sense of brotherhood within communities gives McDonough great joy – because it helps this fighter honor the legacy of his 19 lost, but not forgotten, brothers.

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