University Professors Press is pleased to announce the release of Sunrise Through the Darkness–the story of Will Jimeno, a Port Authority Police Officer, who was trapped under the collapsed World Trade Center Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. The book is being released just before the 20 year anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Will tells the story of how he survived being trapped under the towers and his journey living with his physical injuries and PTSD. Co-written by psychologist Dr. Michael Moats, the story is told with a psychological sensitivity to help others struggling with PTSD. Click here to order your copy today!
About Sunrise Through the Darkness
On September 11th, 2001, Port Authority Police Officer, William Jimeno, left his home unsuspecting of what the day was about to hold. Just a few hours later he lay crushed beneath the Twin Towers’ 220 stories of concrete, steel, and glass. Most of his team had already died. He and his sergeant were helplessly trapped. The pain and anguish had only begun.
Many have seen Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center, which depicted this horrific day and the rescue of Will and his Sergeant, John McLoughlin. Surviving the initial collapse was only part of the story. Multiple surgeries, forced retirement, survivor’s guilt, depression, and learning to live again with PTSD were waiting outside of the rubble.
Will has teamed with clinical psychologist, Michael Moats, to share his message of faith, hope, and love and how these three things helped him navigate the unchartered waters of learning to live again after the tragedy of September 11th. Although Sunrise Through the Darkness speaks directly to first responders, Will’s message is relatable to anyone who has suffered trauma or loves someone who has. Sunrise Through the Darkness marks the 20 year anniversary of 9/11 and gives honor to those that died through Will’s continued work of healing and serving others.
What People are Saying about Sunrise Through the Darkness
A vivid, grueling, step-by-step return from the dead to the living… A true story of faith, hope, and love from a man who survived 9/11 at the World Trade Center. Will inspire you, especially those without hope and those who seek to help others in jeopardy.
Oliver Stone, film director, producer, and screenwriter
Director, Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July
Sunrise Through the Darkness is a transformational journey into one of America’s most dreaded milestones–9/11. But it is much more than a recording of that notorious history; it is a profoundly intimate, intensely heart-rending story of one man’s experience of 9/11 as a Port Authority police officer and First Responder. The subject of that story, William Jimeno, presents readers with the most gripping “blow-by-blow” account of the thoughts, feelings, and sensations of what it was like to attempt to save lives and pay the ultimate price of near death on that fateful day that they are ever likely to witness. And what emerges is a highly inspiring meditation on healing, a “reordering” as distinct from “disordering,” as co-author Moats keenly observes, that will expand the horizons of anyone who has known great pain in life, and who has desperately fought to redefine that pain. Which includes just about all of us, does it not?
Kirk Schneider, PhD, psychologist
Author of Awakening to Awe and The Depolarizing of America: A Guidebook for Social Healing
After combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as a Green Beret, this book and the author’s struggles really resonated with me. As a Physician Assistant, I will recommend this book to my many patients in the military that are struggling with the same battles and the trauma of war.
Brett TerBeek, MPAS, PA-C, US Army
During my son’s four-year leukemia battle, my wife was fond of a quote: “A burden shared is divided, and joy shared is multiplied.” Will’s story is extraordinary. Short of meeting the man in person, it’s almost unbelievable. His season of suffering and path to restoration are at once both uplifting and heart-rending, but the vulnerability he shares is the necessary ingredient to finding healing and wholeness. One of the darkest spiritual temptations to believe is that you are alone. You are not alone. Reading Will’s story will help you find the hope that lies beyond yourself, and to help you move toward the path leading to renewal.
Chaplain, Major Caleb Clark
United States Air Force
Dr. Moats lays bare the human heart and soul of Will and Allison Jimeno in this marvelous expose of pain and suffering as a result of the 9/11 disaster. We can only imagine their shared experience in tragedy and upheaval, but we also experience their faith and trust in God which is part of the fabric of their lives. The range of human emotions doubt, fear, anger, forgiveness and spirituality are all expressed in a moving and compelling manner as a result of this dreadful event in our history.
Rev Msgr. Kevin Flanagan
Pastor Emeritus, St Lawrence R.C Church, Chester N.J.
Will and Allison Jimeno’s Pastor and friend
Michael Moats and Will Jimeno immerse us in an extraordinary story of survival while illuminating a path of healing reinforced with humility, faith, and love. This book actively encourages gentle introspection. As my own losses and traumas surfaced, I have allowed myself to process them anew, with more compassion, acceptance, and forgiveness–not only for the situations, but ultimately for myself. Sunrise Through the Darkness serves as a beacon of hope for anyone who has experienced life’s challenges of pain, loss, and trauma, particularly for those of us who have chosen to answer the call of helping others.
David Wilson, Battalion Chief
Drexel Heights Fire District
Sunrise Through the Darkness is one of the first books of its kind to interweave the journey of trauma and recovery through the unique perspective of a survivor, a loved one, and a clinician. Paramount in this story is the triumph of humanity overcoming even the most egregious of wounds. Will echoes the same sentiment we as clinicians try to illustrate to clients; trauma is not a competitive badge on display. Will’s accounts of the events of 9/11 combined with Dr. Moats’ experientially guided questions evoke many spontaneous emotions in the reader. Although following Will’s struggle to reorient himself after suffering physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds is courageous, the boldest account of courage is Will and Allison’s vulnerability in sharing their story and journey with the world. That is the true testament to faith, hope, and love; being vulnerable enough with your own wounds to help others toward recovery with theirs.
Blair Cano, PsyD, MSCP
US Navy veteran
My father used to say we are defined in life not by how we handle the things that go well, but the things that do not. Having sadly covered so many tragedies, I know they can destroy us or define us. In this beautiful book, Will and Michael point us to our better angels, and our better selves, because “everyone has a World Trade Center.” But not everyone gets through it, or has a guide like this one to deal with it. Even 20 years out from the horror of 9/11, they remind us life isn’t always fair but our strength to deal with it is always there. We just have to see it, and get over the pride that prevents so many of us from learning from it. They even provide the road map.
—Neil Cavuto
Anchor, Fox News and Fox Business