Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope

AS INDIVIDUALS CONGRESSWOMAN GABRIELLE GIFFORDS and her husband astronaut Mark Kelly showed Americans how optimism an adventurous spirit and a call to service can help change the world As a couple they became a national example of the healing power to be found in deeply shared love and courage Their arrival in the world spotlight came under the worst of circumstances On January while meeting with her constituents in Tucson Arizona Gabby was the victim of an assassination attempt that left six people dead and thirteen wounded Gabby was shot in the head doctors called her survival miraculous As the nation grieved and sought to understand the attack Gabby remained in private focused on her against-all-odds recovery Mark spent every possible moment by her side as he also prepared for his final mission as commander of space shuttle Endeavour Now as Gabbys health continues to improve the couple is sharing their remarkable untold story Intimate inspiring and unforgettably moving Gabby A Story of Courage and Hope provides an unflinching look at the overwhelming challenges of brain injury the painstaking process of learning to communicate again and the responsibilities that fall to a loving spouse who wants the best possible treatment for his wife Told in Marks voice and from Gabbys heart the book also chronicles the lives that brought these two extraordinary people togethertheir humor their ambitions their sense of duty their long-distance marriage and their desire for family Gabby and Mark made a pledge to tell their account as honestly as possible and they have done so in riveting detail Both Gabby and Mark have lived large public lives but this book takes readers behind many closed doorsfrom the flight deck of the space shuttle to the cloakrooms of Congress to the hospital wards where Gabby struggled to reclaim herself with the help of formidable medical teams and devoted family and friends Questions are answered with unvarnished candor How do Gabby and Mark feel about the angry political discourse that was swirling in America at the time of the shooting and that remains prevalent today How do they see government living up to the highest possible ideals And how do they understand and mourn the loss of the people who did not survive that day Gabby A Story of Courage and Hope is a reminder of the power of true grit the patience needed to overcome unimaginable obstacles and the transcendence of love In the story of Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly we all can see the best in ourselves As Mark and Gabbys friends have said The two of them are America as we dream it can be.