ejmitcham@ucdavis.edu

When a bomb imploded her building on April 19, 1995, Amy fell three stories and was buried alive for over six hours. In the aftermath of her trauma and loss, Amy enacted the power of hope to transform from victim to champion in her work, education, health, spirit, and love. Her open, vulnerable, and seemingly impossible journey reveals the raw power of authentic hope. No matter how heavy our burdens weigh - from our careers, health, addictions, insecurities, trauma, or loss - Amy reminds us that hope is a verb we can enact today to transform our lives into the future of our dreams.

Maddy Donaldo, homeless at twenty, lives with her dog and makeshift family in the hidden spaces of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. She thinks she knows how to survive and whom to trust until she accidentally witnesses the murder of a young man. Her world is upended as she has to face not only the killer but also the police and then the victim’s parents, who desperately want Maddy to tell them about the life their son led after he left home. And in a desire to save her since they could not save their own son, they are determined to have Maddy reunite with her own lost family.

Maddy Donaldo, homeless at 20, has made a family of sorts in the dangerous spaces of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. She knows whom to trust, where to eat, when to move locations, and how to take care of her dog. It’s the only home she has. When she unwittingly witnesses the murder of a young homeless boy and is seen by the perpetrator, her relatively stable life is upended. Suddenly, everyone from the police to the dead boys’ parents want to talk to Maddy about what she saw.