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"Fire in the Hole: A Year in the Life of the World's Sorriest Stuntwoman" is the new memoir by Heather McPhaul, author of the popular novel "Raggedy Ann Heart." Written under the pseudonym Colleen Kelli, it is the comically dramatic story of a thirty-something actress facing serious changes in her life while training to become a stuntwoman at a quirky western theme park. Over the course of a year, she divorces her lesbian partner of eight years and loses her sister to suicide. A move from the frenzied urban sprawl of Los Angeles to the tranquil desert of Albuquerque does not improve her spirits, but it does allow her to continue her acting career...at the small-time theme park. Oddly, the misfits she works with at the theme park and even a few of the regular customers become somewhat of a dysfunctional, yet much-needed, family. While learning to fall from a two-story roof and harmlessly kick a man in the groin, she struggles to survive the rockiest and most emotional year of her life.
For more information on me and my acting career, please visit my website at www.heathermcphaul.com and my blog at aginggal.com.
Reviewed by Fiona Ingram for Readers' Favorite
Truth is most definitely stranger than fiction in this unusual, heartwarming, yet at, times, heartbreaking autobiography. Tragi-comedy best describes the year in the life of a thirty-something actress who takes the enormous step of changing her life to discover who she is and what she wants by training to become a stunt-woman.
Life deals Colleen a harsh blow when, not only does she part from her lesbian partner of eight years, but her younger sister commits suicide. A move from the frenzied urban sprawl of Los Angeles to the tranquil desert of Albuquerque does not improve her spirits, but it does allow her to continue her acting career ... at a small-time western theme park. The descriptions of her slow and painful transition from clumsy klutz to stunt-woman are documented in comical detail. Hailing from a seriously dysfunctional family, and carrying quite a few of her own obsessions as baggage, Colleen finds herself amidst a bunch of wildly eccentric, equally dysfunctional characters at the theme park that become a strange kind of family to her. While learning to make bombs, twirl guns, fall from a two-story building, and kick a man in the groin, Colleen manages to survive the rockiest and most emotional year of her life.
This journey of self-discovery is punctuated by many lows and, gradually, as many highs as Colleen begins to accept and finally love herself and her co-workers. It’s a journey of self-realization that is, at times, arduous and physically painful, yet punctuated with moments of joy and happiness.
The author has an inimitable style that arouses laughter easily in the reader. A dry wit and quirky sense of humor capture the flavor of Colleen’s small-time wannabe co-workers. Told in a slightly self-deprecating tone, the story draws the reader in from the very first page. The author deftly intersperses snippets about the people she encounters, keeping the reader intrigued and eager to have more. It’s a gentle, moving, sometimes uproariously funny read that will have you turning pages in complete enjoyment.
