The AP reports that in her upcoming memoir, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) vows to return to Congress. The book details her months of intense therapy and her emotional battle to come to terms with the events of nearly a year ago.
The book, titled “Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope,” will be released on November 15th. Among the details reportedly included: Before the shooting, Giffords was attempting to conceive.
The book was penned by Gifford’s husband, the recently retired astronaut Mark Kelly, but Giffords herself wrote the last chapter which consists of a single page of short sentences and is titled “Gabby’s Voice.”
“I will get stronger. Â I will return,” she vows.
Kelly also describes attempting to explain the shooting to his wife. On March 12th, Giffords said she remembered being shot. When asked what, exactly, she remembered about the event, she said three words: “Shot. Shocked. Scary.”
Later that same day, after learning of the six deaths that occurred during the shooting, Giffords was overcome with emotion and had trouble completing her therapy. Kelly held her as she cried.
Through the entire ordeal, Kelly writes that the darkest moment came as Giffords panicked after realizing that she couldn’t talk. Her eyes were “wide with fear and she was crying uncontrollably” as Kelly tried to comfort her.
The ordeal wasn’t without its lighter moments. At one point, a specialist showed Giffords various politicians to see if she remembered people. When she saw former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger she appeared quite capable of recalling details of his life. “Messin’ around. Babies,” was her description.
Kelly also describes a visit by former president George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara. As Bush spoke to Giffords, she kept replying with the only word she was able to speak: “chicken.”
