Self-published in 2010, Where Hope Lives is Ali Rothrock’s debut memoir. Compiled from her personal journals, Where Hope Lives explores the true story of Ali’s entry into the adrenaline-fueled world of firefighting. 

As a reverent relationship developed between Ali and her calling, she threw herself headlong into the male-dominated world of firefighting. Ali endured continued intimidation and abuse but grew in her determination to become a well-respected firefighter. Beyond any doubt Ali knew that even if she didn’t fit in her first fire house, she belonged in that world. Where Hope Lives asks the question: How tenacious would you be in order to stay put in the world in which you know you belong?

All journeys through life have peaks and valleys of emotion. For Ali, her moments of happiness were as intermittent as flashing emergency lights, bright at times, but fleeting as quickly as they arrived. Ali was right where she belonged, but every time she turned around her new colleagues were trying to force her to live up to their views of how women in firefighting should act. 

Despite the subject matter, this is not just a book for firefighters. A fire house is merely the backdrop for the story that took place in a small town in Pennsylvania. Ali's struggle and eventual success will resonate deeply in the soul of humankind. This story will certainly reach across all racial, cultural and gender divides to that universal place inside all of us where hope lives.

“This book began to change everything inside of me page after page…little by little.”