J. Burda grew up in and around Dryden, New York. Before Tomorrow Was Gone comes from firsthand memories of the people and places that shaped him—and from the years that followed when some of that world changed forever.
This is not a story about a flawless narrator surviving terrible things and emerging polished. J. Burda made mistakes. He hurt people. He was hurt by people. He made bad decisions, got things wrong, succeeded in some places, failed in others, and kept trying to become better than the version of himself that came before.
The journey goes backward before it goes forward: into the town, the friendships, the work, the laughter, the losses, the consequences, and the years when rebuilding did not look anything like a straight line.
The larger purpose is not simply to remember what happened. It is to make something useful from it.
The reason for telling it now is simple: hard-earned lessons should not have to die with the people who learned them. If these stories help somebody feel less alone in grief, value someone while they are still here, believe that a bad chapter does not have to become the last one, or decide to show up when another person needs them, then the past is still doing useful work.
J. Burda will take you through the story. The people, the place, and what they leave behind are its heart.