HOUSTON — Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) will read the final chapter of her upcoming memoir for the book’s audio version, The Arizona Daily Star reported Thursday.
“Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope,” written by the 41-year-old Giffords and her 47-year-old retired astronaut husband Mark Kelly, will be released in print and audio form Nov. 15.
A spokesman for the Arizona congresswoman confirmed that Kelly will read the first parts of the book for the audio version while Giffords will record the final chapter, the Star said.
It will give those inspired by her bravery and miraculous recovery the first opportunity to hear the congresswoman personally recount her own experiences since she was nearly killed in a January shooting rampage,
Giffords was hit in the head when a gunman opened fire at a public meeting she was holding with constituents in the parking lot of a Tucson supermarket. The three-term congresswoman suffered a serious wound to the left side of her brain in the attack that left six people dead and 13 others wounded.
Jared Loughner, 23, has been charged with the shootings, but has been declared incompetent to stand trial by a federal judge. Loughner is currently incarcerated in a federal prison hospital in Missouri while undergoing psychological treatment in an effort to restore him to competency so he can be tried.
Giffords has been undergoing treatment at TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital in Houston, Texas, and has made a few public appearances during her rehabilitation.
In August, she returned to Congress to vote in favor of expanding the debt ceiling and earlier this month she attended a retirement ceremony for her husband in Washington, D.C. Photos from the retirement ceremony showed a beaming Giffords pinning a medal on her husband.
Giffords and Kelly are set to appear on an ABC News special with Diane Sawyer the day before the book is released to the public.