Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope [Hardcover]

Gabrielle Giffords (Author), Mark Kelly (Author), Jeffrey Zaslow (Contributor)

Book Description

Release date: November 15, 2011

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 8, 2011, 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 Gabby’s 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 Mark’s voice and from Gabby’s heart, the book also chronicles the lives that brought these two extraordinary people together—their 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 doors—from 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 Gabby’s friends have said: “The two of them are America as we dream it can be.”

Editorial Reviews

Review

“An extraordinary tale…of love, of unthinkable trauma, of a heroic partnership… Redefining for the world what it means to be a fighter.”—People

“A gripping and inspirational memoir…”—St. Petersburg Times

“A picture of a victorious human spirit.”—Publishers Weekly

“Nothing but inspirational.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A story of bravery and perseverance.”—Palm Beach Post

About the Author

A third generation Arizonan, Gabrielle Giffords represented Arizona’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 until 2012. A graduate of Scripps College, she has a Masters degree from Cornell University. She was a Fulbright Scholar in Mexico and a fellow at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Mark Kelly was a captain in the United States Navy when he commanded the final mission of Space Shuttle Endeavour in May of 2011. A veteran of four space flights to the International Space Station, he is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy and holds a masters degree from the US Naval Post Graduate School. As a naval aviator he flew thirty-nine combat missions in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

Jeffrey Zaslow (1958-2012) was most recently the author of The Magic Room. His other books include The Girl from Ames and, as coauthor of The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; First Edition edition (November 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451661061
• ISBN-13: 978-1451661064
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (130 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #248,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

133 of 145 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough, detailed story of their lives November 15, 2011

By Patty Kaye TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope is written mostly in the words of Mark Kelly, the husband of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, with the help of Wall Street Journal columnist Jeffrey Zaslow.

This story, of course, is about the shooting of "Gabby" in January 2011 at her first "Congress on Your Corner" gathering after being elected to Congress. Though the book covers is great detail the facts of that day and the subsequent months of her treatment and rehabilitation, it also contains much more.

Mark Kelly uses flashback storytelling to tell the reader how he and Gabrielle Giffords met, dated, and married; the things they had in common and what attracted them to each other. He also tells us about their previous relationships, including his two daughters. The book is very much an autobiography/biography of his life, Gabby's, as well as both of their parents and even grandparents' histories. I found the stories about their parents to be especially interesting.

He describes Gabrielle's hard work ethics and family commitment that had her taking over the family's large tire business at the age of 26 and her subsequent path into politics. He also explains his path into the Navy and subsequently the NASA space program.

He also tells many stories about his flights into military war zones as a Navy pilot and also aboard the NASA space shuttle missions. He explains his decision, or more accurately NASA's decision, that he be permitted to return to the space mission for its final launch in spite of his wife's condition. If you are at all interested in military or NASA flights, you will find all of this pretty intriguing. It's all the little details you never hear.

Mark Kelly provides a huge amount of information regarding his wife's views on politically hot issues such as immigration laws, health care, the death penalty, education, etc. and why she had and still has such a desire to make changes in these areas. In one poignant remark regarding their prophetic concerns of the increasingly aggressive and violent nature of political debating and wrangling, he brings up Sarah Palin's map that put Arizona in her "crosshairs." Interesting reading regarding Palin's response.

Although it is all very well written and also interesting, I at first wondered what such biographical detail would have to do with what occurred on that terrible day of the shooting. I soon realized that all of this information gives us a much better understanding of how his life, as well as that of his family and her family, better prepared them all to remain so strong and determined to help her get through this long and arduous recovery. It also helps the reader to understand that Congresswoman Gifford's positive attitude, ambition, perseverance, and desire to serve the people of Arizona and America in general has contributed to her determination to recover and return to work.

The author has to be commended for giving plenty of recognition to those six people who died the day of the shooting, telling us about their lives. Heart wrenching of course is the story of the little 9-year-old girl, Christine-Taylor Green, who had such great aspirations to do so much with her life. Appropriately, he does not waste the pages of this book telling about the disturbed young man who chose to destroy so many peoples' lives. There is enough of that written in other places for those who wish to read about him.

As he shifts back and forth between telling history and intermixing it with very detailed descriptions of his wife's slow, painful progress, I found myself both exhausted by her ordeal and yet inspired and uplifted by her spirit. She has come a remarkable distance. He leaves the final chapter of the book to be told in her own voice. The sentences are short and incomplete, yet Gabrielle Giffords manages in those few words to express her thoughts and desires to return to work for the people of Arizona and all Americans by ending with "I will get stronger. I will return."

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Really Important Things of Life November 25, 2011

By reval

Format:Hardcover

As I write this review amid the images of people clawing and fighting for Black Friday specials, this book reflects the true meaning of life. It's really not about saving fifty bucks on a flat screen TV. Life is a husband's lasting devotion in a moment of unimaginable crisis. It is about choosing public service (Gabby) and a career path (Mark) exploring the limitless possibilities of scientfic discovery. Life is understanding that our time here on earth is fleeting and unpredictable at best.
It is about embracing love and not greed, honor rather than expediency and a lasting legacy instead of short-term satisfaction. I recommend this inspirational and enlightening book for anyone ready for a leap in consciousness.

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Treats the reader like a close friend November 29, 2011

By Patto TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

From page one, I felt I was being invited into a private conversation with Mark Kelly, as if I'd been a friend of the family for years.

Kelly does not hesitate to share intimate details with us, about both himself and his wife. He takes us through the whole horrible experience of the shooting and afterwards the surgeries, the therapies, the setbacks and the breakthroughs. Over and over again, we're right there in the room with Gabby, her family, her doctors, her friends and visitors.

All my questions were generously answered. I've followed the coverage on Gabby from day one, searching the Internet daily. The shooting was such an outrage, I desperately wanted Gabrielle Giffords to triumph over the attacker by making a miraculous recovery. I could never get enough news. This book is just what I wanted.

The book is satisfying on other levels as well. It's a totally engaging account of two remarkable lives and careers. I found Kelly's combat and space experience, and Gabby's stint at running the family tire company, especially fascinating.

Most of all, the book is a tremendous love story - a declaration of love from beginning to end.

I'm not normally a reader of survival stories or books about public figures. But I was delighted with this book, and I thank the authors for writing it.