Dora Barilla’s A New Day is a tearful yet triumphant story of one fireman, her husband, who was tragically and almost fatally injured responding to a call. What better time to remember the men and women who work so hard to make our summer celebration so beautiful and safe?

Dora and Tom Barilla

Firefighter’s wife shares miraculous tale

Diana Sholley, Staff Writer

Dora Barilla didn’t fancy herself a writer.

She never intended to write a book.

But then, she never thought her husband would suffer a traumatic brain injury that many believed he would not survive.

Out of self-preservation and a deep desire to help others, Dora, a Rancho Cucamonga resident, wrote “A New Day, A True Story of Healing, Faith and Miracles.”

The story starts with a March 15, 2005, crash involving an Upland fire truck – driven by Dora’s husband – and a casino tour bus near the Fourth Street exit from the 10 Freeway in Ontario. A 75-year-old Rosemead man was killed, Dora’s husband was injured, and more than 50 people were sent to hospitals.

On the day of the incident, Dora and her Upland

Their daughters, Rebecca and Catie, were at school and she was on her way to work at Loma Linda University Medical Center as a faculty member in the health policy and management department and director of community benefits.

On her car radio, Dora heard a report about an accident on the 10 in Ontario that included a fire truck.

“I called the station to see what happened, never thinking that Tom was involved,” said Dora, who is now 40. “The captain answered and said, `Let me call you back. We don’t know all the details. I’ll call you as soon as I know something.’ That’s when I knew something had happened to Tom.”

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“Dora Barilla’s young daughter has a photo frame in her room with an affirmation written on the edges saying, “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but about dancing in the rain.” While the rest of Southern California enjoyed cloudless skies on March 15, 2005, Barilla (BA ‘91) will always remember it as the day the storm hit her family and they had to learn to do just that: dance in the rain.”

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Tom Barilla (R) with members of his 'second family' - the Upland Fire Department

This was not the final cover design. Why?

Authors usually face the design of their book cover or jacket design with some trepidation. They know how critically important the cover will be to the book’s success, especially in retail environments. As publishers, we take many factors into consideration in designing covers. The design needs to communicate the content and help the buyer identify books in which they’d be interested. We listen, too, to the author’s suggestions. We consider the marketplace, what competing titles look like, color trends, typography, and much more. Research tells us that IF a customer picks up a book, they’ll spend 8 seconds looking at the front cover, and if their interest continues, they’ll flip it over and spend 15 seconds reviewing the back cover. Book designer Sue Campbell recently posted an article on the design of a new Stephens Press title, A New Day by Dora Barilla. Sue outlines the design process and the covers that were developed at Sue Campbell Graphic Design.

The very first copy!

Presenting the first copy to a new author is just one of the best things I do. When I dropped by Dora Barilla’s home with the first copy of A New Day, she’d just returned from the gym. Her wide grin says it all. For Dora, and her husband Tom, A New Day represents far more than the long hours of writing. The book details the traumatic brain injury suffered by firefighter Tom in a horrific fire truck collision that nearly killed him.

In painstaking detail, Dora recounts the days sitting by Tom’s bedside as he lay in a coma, the numerous surgeries he endured, the endless hours of rehabilitation, and weeks of nasty litigation.

Dora tells the story of her struggle to maintain optimism for her family and friends as well as keep her own sanity. A professor at Loma Linda Medical University, Dora is in a unique position to share their story, both professionally and personally. Tom and Dora’s dearest wish is to “Pay it Forward” helping other families of victims of traumatic brain injury, and in fact, they’ve designated proceeds from the book to benefit them.

Dora speaks to clubs, churches, and organization about their experiences and how through faith, healing, and miracles, each day is a blessed New Day for the Barilla family.