Four years ago, a fire ripped through the Albany Park apartment of Jon Fullmer and his wife, Amelia, destroying everything they owned. Their first child was due in three weeks, but the baby arrived one week later.
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“It was the weirdest time, for sure,” says Jon, a writer, teacher and content producer at NogginLabs who lost, among other things, a cherished collection of more than 1,000 books. “At the time, the books were the furthest thing from my mind, but a coworker of mine at the Book Cellar (where Fullmer was working part time) approached publishing reps about restocking my shelves, and boxes of books started to appear.”
Then the Chicago literary community rallied, and author Neil Gaiman shared the Fullmers’ story on social media. In came baby clothes, dishware and more.
“I was brought to tears multiple times a day,” Fullmer says. “It was a totally unexpected outpouring.”
Now settled in a Ravenswood apartment with his wife and two sons, he’s slowly starting to rebuild his library. Call it the next chapter.