Overcoming Tuesday

A First Responder's Tale of Healing and Resiliency

By: Jim Burneka Jr., Hilary Hawkins

Narrated by: Jim Burneka Jr.

In Overcoming Tuesday, you’ll find a man on a journey through a difficult childhood, entering a beloved career, marrying the love of his life, having a wonderful family together, and embarking on a career dedicated to his personnels’ safety. He held many roles dedicated to cancer prevention and mental health at the local and national levels. Although he had many successes in those roles, he also had major setbacks.

In this book, Jim shares with you what those journeys looked like and their associated pain, some of which could be anticipated and some which blindsided him. More importantly, he shares with you what he learned in hopes that someone going through a similar journey—not only a firefighter but any person, regardless of vocation—may be able to avoid the same struggles.

Co-Author Jim Burneka Jr. speaks of his experiences with post-traumatic stress disorder, organizational betrayal, cancer, and mental illness. He shares his efforts, struggles, victories, defeats, and lessons learned. Firefighters are a breed very proud of their strength of character, but they struggle with their vulnerability. What Jim shares in this book is the powerful message that vulnerability is not a weakness, but a strength.

The book is a very easy listen, but don't let that fool you; it is full of important lessons to absorb and apply to your life. Then, share what you've learned with people going through troubled times similar to those Jim outlines in this book. When you’ve finished Overcoming Tuesday, you’ll have laughed and been brought to tears, and it will certainly make you think. Ultimately, it will provide invaluable knowledge to give you hope to overcome your own Tuesday!

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Jim Burneka Jr. (P)2025 Jim Burneka Jr.

His Story is Our Story

Jim opens up in a new way most authors have never done before, giving you the nitty gritty details of what his life as a firefighter is like. But not just that, he opens up on the struggles of being a husband, son, father, and even a Daytonian. Being narrated by Jim himself, he brings his story to life through his voice and passion for his story. His story is one of overcoming obstacle after obstacle, failure after failure. And as a first responder, these are obstacles most of us never even dream of going through. Thus, his triumphs are truly amazing. Yet, he notes how for first responders, overcoming these obstacles and traumas are just overcoming another “Tuesday” for them.

Throughout his story, he offers life saving advice from his own experience for those going through similar issues. Cancer, sleep, mental health, and even testosterone are discussed in a way here that don’t make you feel on edge—they make you feel like you’re at home talking to a friend. Ultimately, that’s what this book is—one man’s story portrayed in such a powerful way to where you feel as if you’re the main character. You feel as if you’re Jim. But you also feel the advice given is coming from a place of friendship, love, and warmth. For Jim, too, wants you to overcome your Tuesday, whatever that looks like for you.