Set against the backdrop of the 2009 Victorian Black Saturday bushfires, in The Flipside of Misfortune Karen Curnow vividly recounts the events of that hot and windy day in February, seen through the eyes of someone who survived but lost her house, all her belongings and three of her much loved animals.  While the book tells the story of Karen’s escape, it focusses on the emotional aftermath of the fire and what it means to survive a disaster – to lose almost everything, to come close to losing your life and then to move on with a new sense of purpose.