Ghosts, Smoke, and the Badge
By Dr. Dondi M. Day
About the Book
"Embrace the ghosts and walk through the smoke." — Dr. Travis Yates, author of The Courageous Police Leader
"I have never read a more authentic or personal account." — Capt. Dan Willis (Ret.), author of Bulletproof Spirit
A winter night. A quiet shift. Then the back doors of a van fly open and a shotgun is leveled at a rookie's windshield. In that moment, a young officer learns the first truth of police work: boredom can turn into terror in a single breath.
Ghosts, Smoke, and the Badge is a powerful law enforcement memoir from Dr. Dondi M. Day, who served more than twenty years as a police officer along the North Carolina coast. This isn't a collection of war stories or an exercise in ego. It's the job as he lived it: sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying, often humbling, and always honest.
Ride along through:
The making of a cop: the academy, the first pursuit, and a field training officer called "Top," a quiet Marine veteran whose lessons (Slow down. Breathe. Think first.) echo through an entire career
The calls that never file away: domestics, bar fights, fatal crashes, a Category 5 hurricane, and a mother's children crying on a sunbaked highway
The brotherhood in blue: squad-room pranks, late-night diners, a sergeant dancing to Elvis at 2 a.m., and partners who step into the blow meant for you
The hidden cost of service: moral injury, grief, the bottle, the driveway pause before walking inside, and the losses no report ever captures
What comes after: mentoring the next generation and carrying the badge's lessons into fatherhood and a life beyond patrol
As Capt. Willis writes in the Foreword, this memoir reveals the human side of policing: the quiet burdens, small victories, trauma, and emotional weight most people never see. Dr. Yates puts it plainly: whether you're looking back on a career or just beginning one, you'll find yourself in these pages.
Written for police officers, firefighters, EMS, dispatchers, military veterans, and the families who wait for them to come home, this book is also for any reader drawn to true stories of courage, resilience, and service. It serves as a narrative case study for leadership, ethics, and first responder mental health training.
This is my story, but it's also our story.
A North Carolina law enforcement memoir
Dr. Dondi M. Day’s memoir follows more than twenty years of police service on the North Carolina coast. For readers seeking a police memoir, the human experience of law enforcement, or the personal cost of service, this is nonfiction—not a Cedar Shoals thriller. Stoic in the Storm offers a separate practical resilience approach for first responders.
Available Formats
Book at a Glance
- Author
- Dr. Dondi M. Day
- Category
- Memoir
- Editions
- Audible · Paperback · eBook
Reader Questions
Who is the author of Ghosts, Smoke, and the Badge?
Ghosts, Smoke, and the Badge is by Dr. Dondi M. Day, who also publishes coastal fiction under the pen name Mike Anthony.
Where can I find Ghosts, Smoke, and the Badge?
Use the verified purchase links on this page to see Audible, Paperback, eBook editions. Retailer listings provide current pricing and availability.
How do Stoic in the Storm and Ghosts, Smoke, and the Badge relate?
Ghosts, Smoke, and the Badge is a law enforcement memoir about service and its costs. Stoic in the Storm offers practical Stoic principles and resilience tools for first responders. They explore related experiences from different perspectives; neither is a sequel to the other.