Taking My Life Back - by Rebekah Gregory & Anthony Flacco (Paperback)

About the Book

A spectator at the 2013 Boston Marathon finish line shares her moving and inspiring story of how an act of terrorism changed her life forever.

Book Synopsis

"It is impossible to remain unmoved by Gregory's emotional, open memoir of surviving the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. . . . This is a truly feel-good book that doesn't stint on the challenges that life throws at us."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

*****

On April 15, 2013, Rebekah 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 terrorists' homemade bombs packed with nails and screws went off three feet away, Rebekah's legs took the brunt of the blast, protecting her son from certain death. Eighteen surgeries and sixty-five 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. This stirring memoir tells the story of her 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.

Readers will be moved by the joyous way Rebekah is determined to live her life, seeing every obstacle as part of how God forms us into the people we are meant to be. Readers will also find comfort in the message that it's not what they can or can't do that makes the difference, but rather what God, in his mercy, does through them despite it all. Life is hard, but with God all things are possible.

From the Back Cover

"It is impossible to remain unmoved by Gregory's emotional, open memoir of surviving the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. . . . This is a truly feel-good book that doesn't stint on the challenges that life throws at us."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

*****

I'm often referred to as a victim of the Boston Marathon bombing.
I refuse to see myself as a victim.
I am a survivor.

This is the story of how I took my life back.


"As a fellow Boston Marathon bombing survivor, I know firsthand that we are not exempt from life's inescapable difficulties. Rebekah Gregory simultaneously demonstrates grace and resilience in the face of an unfair and unimaginable position. The unbridled sharing of her unique story is her gift to the reader."--Jessica Kensky, Boston Marathon bombing survivor

"Riveting . . . transparent . . . compelling . . . hopeful. Rebekah is not only a survivor. She's an overcomer! And she has the scars on the inside and outside to show for her journey to a new normal. Taking My Life Back is a rollercoaster triumph of faith over depression, defeat, and evil. There is a revelation on each page. God is still in control. While life often offers so many reasons to be bitter . . . God wants us to be better. Read Taking My Life Back and you'll find out why and how."--Don Piper, New York Times bestselling author of 90 Minutes in Heaven

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.