Media Contact: Shanon Stowe 931-307-1988; shanon@iconmediagroup.com 

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., August 1, 2016—Revell announced today the forthcoming publication of Taking My Life Back: My Story of Faith, Determination, and Surviving the Boston Marathon Bombing by Rebekah Gregory with Anthony Flacco. The book will launch on April 4, 2017 with a national media and book signing tour.

“Writing this book was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but it’s real and honest— and I think that’s what we need in life,” said Rebekah Gregory. “I share deeply personal stories about things I hadn’t fully healed from yet, but the writing brought healing. I hope others will find encouragement and hope from the challenges I’ve experienced, and know they’re not alone.”

On April 15, 2013, Gregory and her five-year-old son waited at the finish line of the Boston Marathon to support a friend who was running. When the blasts of the terrorists’ homemade bombs went off three feet away, Gregory’s legs took the brunt of the blast, protecting her son from certain death. Eighteen surgeries and 65 procedures later, her left leg was amputated.

Despite the extraordinary trauma she underwent and the nightmares she continues to have, Rebekah sees it as just another part of her personal journey, a journey that has led her through abuse, mistakes, and pain and into the arms of Jesus. Taking My Life Back is a stirring memoir that tells of Gregory’s recovery, including her triumphant return to Boston two years later to run part of the race, and explores the peace we experience when we learn to trust God with every part of our lives—the good, the bad, and even the terrifying.

“We are so thrilled to be partnering with Rebekah to tell her story,” said Twila Bennett, Executive Director of Marketing & Publicity, Revell. “Rebekah is an inspiration to us all— not only as a survivor of a terrorist attack, but also as a person who has overcome the hard things this life has thrown at her.”

Vicki Crumpton, Executive Editor at Revell, acquired the book. Sharlene Martin of Martin Literary Management represented Rebekah Gregory.

About the Author

Rebekah Gregory is a woman and mother whose life was forever changed due to the bombings at the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. This act of terrorism may have claimed her leg, but it could not claim her spirit. She is now a powerful motivational speaker who encourages people all across the country with her message of faith and hope. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her son, daughter, and her college-sweetheart-turned- husband.

Anthony Flacco is a New York Times and international bestselling author with six nonfiction books and three novels to his credit. He holds an MFA in screenwriting from the American Film Institute, was selected for the Walt Disney Studios Screenwriting Fellowship, and spent a year writing for Touchstone Pictures. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

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