We all know the stereotype of a book club, that it’s a bunch of women who, under the pretense of meeting to discuss books, just socialize and drink. That hasn’t been my experience at all. People in book groups I’ve visited have been insightful readers. And some of their comments have moved and inspired me.

That happened when I met with the Burnout Sisters Book Club last week. The Burnout Sisters really were burned out. Residents of the San Diego suburb of Scripps Ranch, all of them lost their homes in a devastating 2003 fire. (We name our fires in California, and this one was the Cedar Fire.) They bonded initially over their mutual losses, then over a community-wide rebuilding project in which they shared the same builder to keep down costs. Now, 11 years later, they’ve rebuilt and, after living in rental places throughout San Diego County, they’re neighbors again.

In the discussion, one woman said she felt the title “The Tin Horse” was perfect, because she understood the importance of talismanic family objects; she had searched through the ashes of her home for hers, but hadn’t found any. Everyone nodded. They had all been there. Then another woman shared her story, and it felt like a gift:

In the ruins of her home, she found one special object, a ceramic bird her father had made. The bird was old and cracked, and she had kept it wrapped in newspaper. The blaze had refired the ceramic, and carbon from the burned paper had mended the cracks. When she found it, it was whole again.