The Badge and the Burden: Stories from the Other Side of the Line

In The Badge and the Burden, G.J. Fene delivers a powerful, unflinching collection of short stories that pierce the myth of the invulnerable cop and illuminate the emotional weight of wearing the badge. Told from the first-person perspectives of police officers confronting moral gray zones, systemic failures, burnout, and personal reckoning, these narratives challenge the thin blue line from the inside out.

From ride-alongs gone wrong to welfare checks that unravel old ghosts, each story captures a moment when duty collides with conscience, and no amount of training can prepare them for the aftermath. Gritty, intimate, and brutally honest, The Badge and the Burden strips away the uniform to reveal the human beings beneath.

For readers of The Wire, Friday Night Lights, and The Things They Carried, this collection is not about glorifying or vilifying, but about telling the stories that linger long after the sirens fade.