Girl of the Burning West

Notes from a Life in Ashes

Altadena

I lost my home in the 2025 Altadena (Eaton) fire. I write about the fire, its aftermath, and everything that was lost both personally and in the larger community. Themes I want to explore through the lens of the fire: Altadena’s history, local politics (Defend Altadena!), the aftermath and the recovery, rebuilding a new home and a new community.

The Pacific Palisades

In 1973 my mother, Julia Whedon, published her first novel; Girl of the Golden West, a very thinly-veiled fiction that takes place in the Pacific Palisades, where my family has deep roots. Four different homes associated with my family were lost in the Palisades fire. Using my mother’s novel as a jumping-off point, I will tell the story of my family’s long association with the Palisades and Hollywood, and how it shaped my mother and, in turn, me.

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