Ward Long had a little tragedy hit him recently. The writer and photographer’s home was subject to a fire that hit out of nowhere. It doesn’t sound like he was hurt or like anything that bad came of it: the place just went up in smoke and he had to deal with a lot of shit as a result of it. One good thing to come of it? He made a little forty eight page book on the event, simply titled The Day My House Burned Down.

The book is a photographic journey of the house, from it being just any other house to it being on fire to it being ruined to the events on the periphery of one’s house catching on fire. It illustrates just how quickly life can change and what is most important in life. As he explains (in the promotional video below), the culture surrounding a fire is quite weird as you have to deal with firefighters, landlords, and greedy contractors, which is the most surprising-but-not aspect of the whole situation. It’s obvious looking at the work and hearing thoughts on the situation that Long’s making The Day… is a reminder that bad things happen to innocent people and that you should always be prepared. As he says in the video’s close, get renter’s insurance. And, speaking from experience, renter’s insurance is such a blessing in a city like LA, where occasional chaos leads to you with a stolen computer or missing bike.

Take a peek at Long’s book trailer below and, if you’re into it, you can buy it here for $18. We’re sure your purchase is helping him recover from the loss. You can also find more on him from his Tumblr and Twitter.