Two Hundred Tuesdays: What a Pearl Harbor Survivor Taught Me about Life, Love, and Faith

by Dianne Derby, T.L. Heyer (With)

Overview

This is the story of how casual Tuesday meetings about friendship, leadership, mentoring, parenting, and marriage—and the sacred thread through it all—led to an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

When Dianne Derby arrived as a news anchor in Colorado Springs, she was hungry for approval, affirmation, and connections. She raced from one event to the next, capturing stories and sound bites. Everything changed when she met centenarian Jim Downing at a luncheon for World War II veterans. At the time, Jim was the second-oldest living survivor of Pearl Harbor. Jim asked Dianne an important question: “Would you like to meet the most fulfilled person you’ll ever know? You’re looking at him.”

Dianne and Jim began meeting on Tuesdays, where eventually she invited her followers into their dialogues with dozens of videos on Facebook Live, where viewers could learn from Jim just as she had. With thousands of views, the chats struck a chord with people who were hungry for a meaningful life. Over the course of five years, Jim Downing taught Dianne Derby to slow down; to embrace only what is true, real, and good; and to live a life of significance. She delivered a eulogy at his funeral, a memorial service that was broadcast for the world. His lessons live on in her stories, her friendships, and the significance of her work as a journalist, a mother, a wife, and a follower of Christ.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781641583732
Publisher:	The Navigators
Publication date:	05/17/2022
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	420,031
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Dianne Derby is an anchor at KOAA 5, the NBC affiliate for southern Colorado. She met Jim Downing at a luncheon for World War II veterans and learned from him almost every Tuesday for the next five years. Originally from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, she has earned two master's degrees and a bachelor's degree. Dianne and her husband live in Colorado Springs with their daughter and three rescue dogs.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 A Million Chances to Say Yes 5

Chapter 2 Take Me to Church 17

Chapter 3 Tuesday People 29

Chapter 4 A Piece of the Story 43

Chapter 5 In the Fishbowl 51

Chapter 6 One Hundred Years 69

Chapter 7 Restore My Soul 91

Chapter 8 Turning the Page 101

Chapter 9 Marriage Talk 109

Chapter 10 A Sacred Grief 119

Chapter 11 New Life 133

Chapter 12 So Long, Dear Friend 145

Epilogue: Totally Fulfilled 159

Acknowledgments 173

Notes 177

What People are Saying About This

Vinh Chung

Dianne’s faith journey is brutally honest, touching, and inspiring. Anyone who wants to know what it is like to walk humbly with God must read it!

Lauren Ferrara

What a beautiful and honest story of faith, friendship, and transformation, all thanks to a chance encounter. We can all learn something from both the 104-year-old war hero and the forty-something journalist, both on a quest to leave the world better than they found it. There is something—a lesson, a truth, a question—for all of us in Two Hundred Tuesdays.

Phil Martinez

Dianne Derby’s Two Hundred Tuesdays is a delightful, emotional guide of resiliency and perseverance filled with inspiring anecdotes of positivity and her perilous journey of self-discovery with an American hero as her mentor. I LOVED this book, a must-read for all empaths and anyone who’s faced adversity, and also a gift to the world, filled with positive core values, self-love, and paying it forward. I can’t wait to share this incredibly thoughtful book with my friends and family.

Dr. Mark Mayfield

Honest, vulnerable, and engaging. A beautiful picture of friendship and discipleship. A must-read!

Mark Conforti

Dianne Derby once confidently faced her future with a headstrong tenacity. Then she met “Grandpa Jim,” her life mentor. Raised in the Christian faith, Derby met Jesus in a fresh way thanks to this unlikely friendship. In Two Hundred Tuesdays, she reveals how Jim Downing’s impact gave her the resources not simply to navigate life but also to enjoy life fully.

Larry Dozier

Two Hundred Tuesdays: What a Pearl Harbor Survivor Taught Me about Life, Love, and Faith is much more than the story of a Pearl Harbor survivor; it’s also a book about relationships, marriage, and lessons learned from Jim. Dianne’s boldness to be authentic is captured immediately. This book will inspire kindness toward one another; I confidently recommend it for those wanting more out of life, love, and faith.

John Suthers

Accomplished people in their last stage of life are in a unique position to impart wisdom and understanding to those immersed in the day-to-day struggles of work, marriage, and child-rearing. Two Hundred Tuesdays is a great example of the healing power of such meaningful relationships between young and old.

Tim Gray

The World War II generation left us a blueprint for how to be better people and how to coexist in a better world. Jim Downing is one of the many architects of that blueprint. Dianne Derby captures the true essence of this incredible man, who was there in the crucible of Pearl Harbor and went on to make sure we never forget December 7, 1941, and the lessons of that day, which still resonate in all our lives.

Don Pape

This is a book that captures a friendship across generations, across gender, and even across faith traditions. It is a gem of a book that reminds readers that sometimes Truth transcends. Dianne is a newscaster bent on finding and breaking the next big story. (She is very good at that, by the way.) Jim was an aging war hero who had The Story that just had to be shared. Put on the spot, Dianne unflinchingly took on the challenge, and the result is this charming book. Read it and be blessed.