BETHLEHEM, Pa. - A new book honors seven first responders in the Lehigh Valley, highlighting their careers and celebrating the resilience and optimism that comes with serving their community.
- "Called to Serve" is a book that profiles seven first responders in the Lehigh Valley area
- The goal of the book is to recognize the sacrifices of everyday heroes
- It will be released Nov. 15
The book was written over a year and is named “Called to Serve.” It profiles 15 firefighters, paramedics, EMTs and police officers from across the country.
The sixteenth chapter focuses on Samuel P. Royer, brother of Amy Royer, an EMT also featured in the book. The book was Samuel's idea, and he helped edit it. A U.S. Marine veteran, he also introduced The HELPER Act (Homes for Every Local Protector, Educator and Responder) to Congress to extend the homeownership pathways veterans get to first responders and teachers.
The book opts out of engaging with systemic reasons for why the jobs of first responders are so difficult.
Instead, it spotlights those forced to carry the physical and emotional trauma of dealing with the everyday tragedies in American life, including car accidents, overdoses and homicides.
Officer Evan Weaver, who lives in Allentown, has been in the police force for 20 years. For him, the psychological stakes in making the community feel safer are his own feelings of safety. He talks about the paranoia of being killed on the job every single time he goes to work.
“It is a hard way to go through life. It weighs on you.”Evan Weaver, police officer
“It is a hard way to go through life,” he said. “It weighs on you.”
According to an analysis of 2020 BLS data by AdvisorSmith, police officers have the 22nd most fatal occupation in the country. But maybe it only takes facing down the barrel of a gun once to instill that kind of paranoia.
What is interesting is the dynamic between him and his wife, a therapist who talks him through the nightmares of scenes he has encountered.
He also grapples with the emotional ramifications of being part of a carceral state. “I do not feel good locking up people,” he said. “A kid will have no mom or dad, and families will be torn apart.”
Love in unlikely places
“Every day we lose a tiny bit of ourselves,” said Padriac Daraghy, an EMT in Allentown. “We are mobile therapists, social workers, priests, surrogate parents and comforters-in-chief.” It’s a job where no amount of training can prepare them for the scenarios they encounter.
That’s why there is no one he would rather have by his side than his wife, Sarah Walbert, also an EMT featured in the book.
“We never imagined that we would fall in love in an ambulance.”Padriac Daraghy, EMT
“We never imagined that we would fall in love in an ambulance,” he said.
Because of their unique insight into each other's jobs, they’re able to lean on each other when time gets tough.
“We do have a great system,” Walbert said about their different coping styles. “I tend to want to talk and get out my frustrations. He tends not to talk, but at the end of his shift, he gets in the shower and washes off the stresses of the day.”
There’s also the joy of helping others during some of the toughest moments in people's lives. Amy Royer described comforting a woman whose husband died from cardiac arrest.
“Often times I just sit close to them and let them cry on my shoulder,” she said. “It makes you feel good, knowing you helped a family cope.”
Perhaps what drives people to these difficult professions is captured by an experience Daraghy had after breaking his leg as a child.
Though the injury was traumatic and gave him nightmares, he was able to heal both physically and emotionally.
When was in the ambulance, an EMT told him about losing all his toes at a similar age. The story calmed him down.
“He was broken, but thankfully repaired, and inspired.”
The book will be released on Nov. 15. A portion of the sales will go to the Gary Sinise Foundation to help wounded warriors, veterans and first responders.