Media Kit

The Book

Title: Keeping Our Nation's Promise
Subtitle: 9/11 and the Stories That Still Shape Us
Publication date: Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Publisher: Amplify Publishing Group
ISBN: 979-8-90026-216-1
Page count: 384
Price: $36.00
Format: Hardcover

Overview

Why This Book, Why Now

More than 100 million Americans were either too young to remember September 11, 2001, or weren't yet born. Meanwhile, the survivors, first responders, and leaders who lived through that day are aging and their stories, many of them never widely told, risk being lost. As national conversations intensify around 9/11-related illness benefits, veterans' care and whether schools should be required to teach the events of that day, Keeping Our Nation's Promise arrives at the 25th observance as an urgent act of preservation and a call to a new generation.

Book Description

Keeping Our Nation’s Promise: 9/11 and the Stories That Still Shape Us is a narrative profile collection drawn from in-depth interviews with more than 40 people whose lives were defined by September 11, among them White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta (both of whom contributed forewords), first responders, survivors pulled from the rubble, counterterrorism officers, athletes, artists, and the designers of the memorials built to honor those lost. Organized across four parts: Leadership, Resilience, Legacy, and Remembering, the book does not relitigate the events of the day. It asks what came after: the choices people made, the identities they rebuilt, and what it means to carry something forward across 25 years.

This is not a grief memoir or a policy argument. It is a portrait of American character under pressure and a direct challenge to the idea that remembering is passive. With forewords from two of the most senior officials connected to the 9/11 response, and profiles ranging from NYPD Detective Michael Saxe to singer Lee Greenwood to family members of the heroes aboard Flight 93, the book offers media a deep bench of interview subjects and story angles across politics, military service, sports, music, and public memory.

Target Audience

Americans who lived through 9/11 and want their experience reflected with honesty and depth; younger readers and students encountering these stories for the first time; veterans and first responders; educators and school administrators engaged in 9/11 curriculum discussions; readers of narrative nonfiction, oral history, and American history; producers and journalists covering the 25th observance of September 11 and beyond.

Authors

Dr. Chris Meek

Co-Author

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Short bio

Dr. Chris Meek is a dedicated advocate for 9/11 families, veterans, and those seeking to reclaim their sense of purpose. He is co-founder and chairman of SoldierStrong, a nonprofit supporting America's military veterans, and founder of The 9/11 Legacy Foundation, committed to educating Americans about the enduring impact of September 11. He hosts the weekly podcast Next Steps Forward and is the author of four books, including Everyday Triumph: Extraordinary Stories of Hope, Resilience, and Impact and Keeping Our Nation's Promise: 9/11 and the Stories That Still Shape Us.

Long bio

Dr. Chris Meek has spent more than thirty years in the financial services industry, with a career that has taken him across some of the world’s most respected institutions, including Goldman Sachs, State Street Global Advisors, and S&P Global.

Meek is the cofounder, chairman, and CEO of SoldierStrong, a charitable organization that assists America’s military veterans in taking their next steps forward through the donation of revolutionary medical technology, and the founder and organizing committee chairman of the 9/11 Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to honoring the memory of those lost on September 11, 2001 and educating Americans about the profound and lasting impacts of the attacks.

He has been recognized for his work in philanthropy with the President’s Call to Service Award (2011), March of Dimes Franklin Delano Roosevelt Outstanding Corporate Citizen Award (2012), Syracuse University’s Orange Circle Award (2014), and the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council’s “Game Changer” Award (2020); he was named a “Face of Philanthropy” by the Chronicle of Philanthropy (2021); and he was awarded both the Voice of Courage and Angel Award for his work in anti-human trafficking by Voices Against Trafficking (2025).

He holds a BA in economics and political science and an MPA from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, an MBA in financial management from Pace University, and a doctorate in organizational change and leadership from the University of Southern California.

Meek serves as an adjunct professor at the Maxwell School at Syracuse, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on nonprofit management and board governance. He shares his experiences and discusses resiliency, empowerment, and leadership through adversity on his weekly podcast Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek via VoiceAmerica Media. More information can be found at www.nextstepsforward.com. Meek released his first book, Next Steps Forward: Beyond Remembering, The Power of Action, in 2022; his second book, Everyday Triumph: Extraordinary Stories of Hope, Resilience, and Impact, in 2025; and his third book Keeping Our Nation’s Promise: 9/11 and the Stories that Still Shape Us, in 2026. His fourth book, America as a Cultural Mosaic, is expected to be published in fall 2026.

Meek is the executive producer of The Heroism and Resiliency of 9/11, a documentary film directed and produced by Michael Gier and narrated by actor Gary Sinise. Released in 2026, the film has earned five Best Documentary awards at film festivals nationwide.

Dave Jarecki

Co-Author

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Short bio

Dave Jarecki has provided writing and editorial support to global brands, nonprofits, founders, and authors since 1999, contributing to more than two dozen published titles as a ghostwriter and developmental editor. His role in shaping Keeping Our Nation’s Promise involved interviewing, research, and constructing the book’s deeply reported profiles. He holds a BA in English from Penn State University, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University.

Long bio

Since 1999, Dave Jarecki has provided writing and editorial support to global brands, businesses, nonprofit organizations, founders, executives, and authors. His work spans industries and focus areas including tech, leadership, business development, branding, higher education, health, sports, death and dying, and the arts. Across these fields, he creates brand strategy, long-form narratives, speeches, presentations, scripts, and books.

As a ghostwriter and developmental editor, Jarecki has contributed to more than two dozen published titles across genres, helping leaders, authors, and subject-matter experts shape complex ideas into clear, compelling narratives.

In addition to his work with businesses and authors, Jarecki has taught hundreds of writers in workshops, boardrooms, and classrooms, primarily in the Pacific Northwest.

Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Jarecki earned his BA in English from Penn State University and his MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University. His creative work, including poetry and narrative nonfiction, has appeared in a number of print and online journals and magazines. He currently lives in Vermont and collaborates daily with clients and partners around the world.

Key Talking Points

This is not another 9/11 book. It's a book about what came after.

Keeping Our Nation's Promise doesn't relitigate the attacks. It asks a harder question: how do the people who lived through that day continue to be shaped by it 25 years later? The book spans leadership, resilience, legacy, and remembrance, and features more than 40 people whose lives were permanently redirected by September 11.
More than 100 million Americans have no living memory of 9/11.

That number grows every year. As the generation that lived through the attacks ages, the stories are at risk of becoming abstraction, dates and timelines rather than human lives. This book is a deliberate act of preservation, capturing voices while they can still tell their own stories in their own words.
The book features some of the most authoritative voices on 9/11, some of whom have never spoken this candidly.

With forewords from White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and profiles ranging from the Air National Guard pilots Marc Sasseville and Heather “Lucky” Penney who flew unarmed to attempt to intercept Flight 93, to NYPD officer Will Jimeno who was pulled from beneath the rubble, to architect Jessica Jamroz who has spent more than 20 years fighting to complete New Jersey's Empty Sky Memorial, the book offers media a wide bench of compelling interview subjects.
"Never Forget" is not enough, this book makes the case for active remembrance.

The book draws a clear distinction between passive commemoration and meaningful engagement. As former CIA Director Leon Panetta writes in the foreword, the phrase "Never Forget" must translate into "We Remember,” a living commitment carried forward by every generation, not just those who were there.
The unity that emerged after 9/11 has something to teach us right now.

Former NFL coach Herm Edwards, Coast Guard Lieutenant Michael Day, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson, NYPD Detective Michael Saxe, the book is full of people who describe the same thing: a country that, for a moment, set down its divisions and acted as one. At a time of deep political fracture, these stories offer a different model for what Americans are capable of.
More Americans have now died from 9/11-related illness than died on the day itself.

Twenty-five years later, the human cost is still growing. First responders, survivors, and recovery workers continue to die from exposure-related cancers and illness, and their stories, like Firefighter James Brown's four cancer battles and Chris Braman's sixty hours inside the Pentagon, are still unfolding.
This is a book about ordinary people who did extraordinary things and what that means for the rest of us.

The book's most powerful argument isn't political or historical. It's personal: that leadership, service, resilience, and compassion are not qualities reserved for exceptional people. They are choices made by ordinary people in impossible moments. That message is as urgent today as it was in September 2001.

Fact Sheet

2,977 people were killed in the September 11 attacks, representing 90 countries.
More than 100 million Americans were either too young to remember 9/11 or were not yet born.
More people have now died from 9/11-related illnesses than died on the day itself, with the number continuing to rise 25 years later.
In the immediate aftermath, 71% of Americans reported feeling depressed, nearly half (49%) had difficulty concentrating, and a third struggled to sleep.
Three weeks after the attacks, 87% of Americans were still angry.
More than 500,000 people were evacuated from Lower Manhattan by water on 9/11, the largest maritime evacuation in history.
More than 300 search-and-rescue dogs rotated through Ground Zero in the weeks following the attacks.
New Jersey lost more residents on 9/11 than any state except New York, more than one quarter of all who died that day.
The Federal Reserve's balance sheet nearly tripled overnight on 9/11 as Roger Ferguson worked to prevent a financial collapse, decisions that became the template for the 2008 financial crisis and COVID-19 economic response.

Chapter Summaries

Part One: Leadership

Under Attack: Chief of Staff Andy Card on 9/11

The White House Chief of Staff who whispered nineteen syllables into President George Bush's ear, "America is under attack,” recounts the decisions, the chaos, and the weight of leadership in the hours and days that followed.

The Right Call: Herm Edwards on America’s Huddle

The New York Jets head coach who refused to play football the week of 9/11 reflects on leadership, the bond of a team huddle, and what it means to act from principle when no one has given you the playbook.

Harbor of Helpers: The 9/11 Boatlift

RADM Michael Day who improvised the largest maritime evacuation in history, moving nearly 500,000 people off Manhattan by water using little more than a grease pencil and a nautical chart.

Watching, Waiting, Leading: Dana and Tim Born

On September 11, an Air Force commander and her Marine husband faced the same crisis from opposite sides: she held her command together for nine hours not knowing whether her daughters, at the Pentagon daycare, were alive.

Keep It Going: Roger Ferguson and the Financial System on 9/11

The highest-ranking Federal Reserve official on U.S. soil on September 11, Ferguson quietly prevented a financial collapse by keeping the markets open, the ATMs running, and trust in the American economy intact.

From Dugout to Duty: Bobby Valentine, Shea Stadium, and the Spirit of New York

The Mets manager who turned Shea Stadium into a relief hub, walked his dogs among grieving families at the docks, and was in the broadcast booth the night Osama bin Laden was killed.

Asked, Not Tasked: Marc Sasseville and the Air National Guard Response on 9/11

The Air National Guard pilot who scrambled unarmed to intercept Flight 93 reflects on what it meant to be asked, not ordered, to fly a mission with no weapons, no playbook, and no guarantee of coming home.

Wound and Heart: Jessica Jamroz’s Fight for New Jersey Families

The interdisciplinary designer who has spent more than twenty years fighting to complete Empty Sky, New Jersey's official 9/11 memorial, shares what it costs to keep a promise to the families of the nearly 750 New Jerseyans killed that day.

The Weight of the Mission: Leon Panetta

The former CIA director who oversaw the operation that brought Osama bin Laden to justice reflects on what "Never Forget" really demands of a democracy and what is at stake when memory fades.

Part Two: Resilience

Between Impact and Response: Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, Trauma, and the Psychology of Service

A clinical psychologist who watched her patients shatter in the wake of 9/11 and responded by founding Give an Hour, a national nonprofit that has donated more than 300,000 hours of free mental health care to veterans and trauma survivors.

Fighting Through Darkness: Will Jimeno on Surviving the Towers

A Port Authority Police officer trapped beneath the World Trade Center for more than thirteen hours describes the moment he made peace with dying, the vision that made him fight to live, and the long road back from trauma that followed.

A Soldier’s Promise: Chris Braman’s Sixty Hours Inside the Pentagon

A cook and general's aide at the Pentagon ran toward the fire on September 11, spent sixty hours pulling survivors and tagging the fallen, and has lived with the physical and emotional costs ever since.

Faith After the Fall: First Responder, FF James (Jimmy) Brown

A probationary FDNY firefighter stationed steps from the World Trade Center survived the collapse of both towers, then spent a decade working through survivor's guilt and atheism before finding faith on the tenth anniversary of the attacks.

A Hand Through the Fire: Marilyn Wills on Surviving the Pentagon

A Pentagon survivor who led a chain of colleagues to safety through smoke and fire, guided by a habit she had developed of walking the hallways with her eyes closed, reflects on the long shadow of survival and what it cost her to return to the building.

Drive Into Memory: NYPD Detective Michael Saxe

An off-duty NYPD detective who drove himself into Lower Manhattan on September 11 describes what he saw at Ground Zero, the quiet conviction that kept him there, and how the smell of the site stayed with him long after he left.

One Voice: Daniel Rodriguez

The NYPD officer known as "the Singing Policeman" describes how his voice became a vehicle for national mourning after 9/11 and how, fifteen years later, the weight of what he had witnessed finally broke through.

A Mother’s Wait: Alison Crowther and the Memory of Her Son

The mother of Welles Remy Crowther, "The Man in the Red Bandana," shares how she came to understand what her son did in the South Tower, and how she has spent the years since protecting the truth of his story and his legacy.

Through the Rubble: Officer Scott Strauss and the Rescue at Ground Zero

The NYPD Emergency Service Unit officer who crawled through the rubble of the World Trade Center in darkness, stripped off his gun belt, and refused to leave until Will Jimeno was free.

Part Three: Legacy

Friends in the World: Ambassador Nicholas Burns on NATO’s Response to 9/11

As U.S. Ambassador to NATO on September 11, Burns oversaw the alliance's historic and only-ever invocation of Article 5, and reflects on what that moment revealed about unity, diplomacy, and shared responsibility.

Ready to Fly: Heather Penney on the Impact of Service

One of the first female F-16 fighter pilots in the U.S. military, Penney scrambled unarmed on September 11 prepared to use her aircraft to bring down Flight 93, a decision she has carried quietly for twenty-five years.

The Echo of a Song: Lee Greenwood

The singer behind "God Bless the U.S.A." reflects on how a song recorded nearly two decades before the attacks became an unofficial national hymn in the weeks and months after September 11.

What You Do Next: Frank Napolitano on Living and Writing Day of Days

A New York attorney and volunteer firefighter who was at Ground Zero on September 11 describes how he eventually turned that experience into a best-selling novel, donating all profits to 9/11 remembrance organizations.

The Long Shadow: Tracey Walder, Counterterrorism, and Echoes of 9/11

One of the youngest women recruited into the CIA's Counterterrorism Center after 9/11 offers a rare look at the quiet, classified vigilance that has defined national security work for the past twenty-five years.

The Season that Stays: Andy Pettitte in Reflection

The Yankees pitcher who took the mound in the weeks after 9/11 reflects on what it felt like to play for a city in grief, and how that season shaped his understanding of duty, faith, and what athletes owe the people who watch them.

Front Row, Shutter Open: Eric Draper

The Chief White House Photographer who was at President Bush's side from a Florida classroom to Air Force One shares the intimate images and moments that shaped how the world remembers September 11.

What We Leave Behind: Allison Black

An AC-130H gunship officer nicknamed the "Angel of Death" reflects on what it means to carry the weight of service, legacy, and moral reckoning from the skies.

Exchange and Resolve: Reggie Browne on the Balancing Act Between Capital and Purpose

The man known as the "Godfather of ETFs" reflects on the meaning of purpose, legacy, and the human dimension of markets that existed in the shadow of the World Trade Center.

No Soft Warning: Barry Zulauf and the Intersection of Intelligence

A Naval Intelligence and DEA veteran who narrowly missed being inside the Pentagon on September 11 reflects on the analytical failures that made the attacks possible and the cost of allowing vigilance to erode.

Part Four: Remembering

Sung To Safety: Remembering Rick Rescorla

Bill McMahon, a colleague of Morgan Stanley security chief Rick Rescorla described how one man's obsessive preparedness and his habit of singing Welsh hymns to calm evacuating workers saved thousands of lives.

Voices and Landscape: Designing Memory at the Flight 93 National Memorial

Warren Byrd and Paul Murdoch, the landscape architects who designed the Flight 93 National Memorial, describe how they translated the story of the land, the passengers, and the act of courage into a space that makes remembrance physical.

Winning With Respect: Luis Gonzalez and the 9/11 World Series

The Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder whose walk-off hit won the 2001 World Series reflects on what it felt like to play baseball and to win in a nation still in mourning.

Remembering Lauren: A Husband’s Journey Through Loss

Jack Grandcolas, the widower of United Flight 93 passenger Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas shares how a final voicemail of love and calm became the anchor for a life devoted to remembrance and purpose.

The Risk of Forgetting: Martha MacCallum

The veteran broadcast journalist who reported from across the Hudson as the towers fell reflects on the responsibility journalists carry to ensure that the story of September 11 is told with clarity, compassion, and historical honesty.

Monumental Intent: The Story Behind America’s Response Monument

Douwe Blumberg, the sculptor behind America's Response Monument, shares the story of creating the first publicly accessible bronze honoring the U.S. Army Special Forces in the aftermath of 9/11.

The Heart of the Story: Author Tom McMillan on Flight 93

The historian and author of Flight 93 shares how years of research into the passengers and crew who fought back led him to a deeper understanding of what courage looks like when there is no training, no uniform, and no time.

Marking Absence: Michael Arad and the National September 11 Memorial

The architect of Reflecting Absence describes how he transformed the footprints of the Twin Towers into a memorial that turns loss into continuity.

Memory Mission: Finding Peace at the Pentagon

Joseph Kornhoff, the executive director of the Pentagon Memorial Fund, whose own parents worked in the building on 9/11, reflects on what it means to be part of a new generation of stewards determined to keep remembrance alive.

Flag and Pipes: Patrick and James Dowdell Remember Their Father

The sons of fallen FDNY Lieutenant Kevin Dowdell reflect on how they have carried their father's spirit of service forward through action, music, and mentorship.

Praise and Endorsements

It’s extremely important that we remember 9/11, especially those who weren’t yet born. We saw the world at its worst, but the way we responded represents America at its best. Keeping Our Nation’s Promise captures this as well as any book I’ve read.
George Pataki, fifty-third governor of New York

Chris Meek and Dave Jarecki do a masterful job of recounting the service and sacrifices ordinary Americans made in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, of the unity the attacks fostered in our country, and of our promise to never forget the 2,977 victims and their families. It’s a timely read for the 250th anniversary of our country and the 25th observance of those attacks.
General George W. Casey Jr., thirty-sixth chief of staff, United States Army

Keeping Our Nation’s Promise challenges us to reflect on what we promised one another and on how we continue to live that promise today. It is both a tribute and a call to action—personal, moving, and profoundly important.
LTG Patricia D. Horoho, USA (RET), forty-third surgeon general, United States Army and commanding general of the United States Army Medical Command

Whether directly affected or observing from afar, our world paused in horror and sadness on 9/11. Keeping Our Nation’s Promise is a poignant and powerful reflection of the day and the era. We must always remember the sacrifices. I know I will.
Boomer Esiason, former NFL MVP and Walter Payton Man of the Year

Keeping Our Nation’s Promise” reminds us that September 11 was a day of loss and a test of who we are as a nation. Through intimate and deeply reported profiles, this book honors those who died and those who responded. It challenges us to consider what service and responsibility mean today. This book underscores a deep truth: resilience is not an individual act but a shared endeavor. In remembering, we strengthen our national character and capacity to meet the complex challenges of the future.
Jane Holl Lute, former United States deputy secretary of Homeland Security

With profiles of first responders, survivors, public servants, military personnel, and families, Keeping Our Nation’s Promise highlights the quiet strength that helped carry our country through an unimaginable moment.
Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary

A quarter century has passed since the horrific events that unfolded on Sept. 11, 2001. Chris Meek and Dave Jarecki’s book proves there is still much to learn from the people who lost their lives that day, their families, and survivors. Keeping Our Nation’s Promise masterfully and tenderly weaves together stories of leadership, sacrifice, and resilience to produce a meaningful history.
Justin Baer, writer and editor for The Wall Street Journal, author of House of Fidelity

Public life often asks leaders to speak about unity and service. Those values are best understood through the lives of people who embody them when circumstances demand it most. Keeping Our Nation’s Promise brings together stories that show what courage and responsibility look like in practice. I’m grateful to be a part of this book.
Rear Admiral Michael Day, USCG (Ret)

Keeping Our Nation’s Promise reflects so closely my own story of survival on and after September 11. The experiences in this book have yet to fully heal our hearts but allow us to move through each moment with love and grace.
Mikaila “Michelle” Cruz, Ground Zero Survivor

Hope is an important thing. I believe Keeping Our Nation’s Promise is a book about hope. Even the stories that are set in the moment of the 9/11 attacks will carry forward in a timeless and meaningful way.
Joe Fox, NYPD chief (ret)

Keeping Our Nation’s Promise reminds us that words like resilience and legacy aren’t just slogans, and that memory deserves more than occasional headlines. The book’s call to action is about remembering as an ongoing act, which is particularly important for post-9/11 generations.
Richard Jacobsen, former president & CEO, Time Warner Retail and Time Inc. Retail

Sample Excerpt

From "Through the Rubble: Officer Scott Strauss and the Rescue at Ground Zero"

“Do it,” Officer Will Jimeno yelled. “Just get me out. Get my sergeant out too.” “I’m getting you out whole,” Strauss said back to him.

“I told Will, ‘I’m not cutting your leg off.’ He just wanted us to get to Sergeant McLoughlin, who was buried deeper. I wasn’t ready to give up.”

As they worked, the fires above them raged. WTC Buildings 4 and 5 had started to buckle, sending new tremors through the debris field. From above, firefighters screamed at them to evacuate. “The pile is shifting! We can’t control the fires. Get out. Get out!”

Will Jimeno watched them as closely as he could through the darkness

“You’re not leaving me, are you?” he asked Strauss, who shook his head, saying no. Strauss, McGee, and Sereika weren’t going anywhere.

They pressed on, working against time and exhaustion. Strauss crawled literally on top of Jimeno, pushed a heavy tool over Jimeno’s chest into an opening in the rubble no bigger than a foot wide. Then he yelled back to McGee and Sereika to get out. He didn’t know what would happen once he started the tool and moved the wall that was pinning Jimeno’s leg.

“I yelled over to Paddy, ‘Find me something else I can use to pry this off his foot!’”

McGee, still working in the tiny crawlspace, somehow found exactly what they needed: a length of rebar, bent at the perfect angle. He slid it forward.

Then Sereika squeezed in, stretched his arm as far as he could, and grabbed onto Jimeno’s pant leg. Strauss pried the rebar up again while Sereika wrenched Jimeno’s leg free.

Strauss and Sereika scrambled back out and then crawled in on their sides, chest to chest, and slowly yanked Jimeno toward McGee. Inch by inch, they dragged him out from the debris, pushing past the very walls that had nearly entombed him.

McGee and the others above cleared an opening. A Stokes basket made its way down through the hole.

McGee and Sereika loaded Jimeno in and buckled him tight. They pushed him up as hands reached down and pulled the basket from the pile. For the first time in hours, Jimeno was above ground, under the open sky.

Op-Ed Availability

Pitch Summary

Twenty-five years after September 11, more than 100 million Americans have no living memory of the attacks, and the generation that does is watching its stories, its witnesses, and its sense of shared purpose slowly fade. Keeping Our Nation's Promise makes the case that remembrance is not a passive act of looking backward, but an active obligation that each generation must choose to take up. At a moment when the country is more divided than at any point since that Tuesday morning when, for a brief and extraordinary time, it wasn't, these stories offer something urgent: proof that unity is not a myth, and that ordinary Americans have always had the capacity to rise.

Dr. Chris Meek and Dave Jarecki are available to write or adapt original pieces on assignment for interested outlets. They can tailor the argument, angle, and framing to fit a publication's readership and editorial voice. Pitches and inquiries should be directed to media@ournationspromise.com.

Media Coverage to Date

The following coverage reflects Dr. Chris Meek's established presence as a national voice on 9/11 remembrance, veterans' advocacy, and civic education, the same themes at the heart of Keeping Our Nation's Promise.

Fox News July 12, 2026
9/11 Legacy Foundation keeps its promise to 'Never Forget'
Dr. Chris Meek joins Mike Emanuel on Fox News Live to discuss why preserving the legacy of September 11 is essential to America's future, ahead of the 25th observance and America's 250th anniversary.
Fox News July 1, 2026
As American pride hits a 25-year low, a new 9/11 education platform urges the nation to never forget
Fox News Digital covers the launch of the 9/11 Legacy Foundation's free national curriculum on Freedom250.org, featuring Dr. Meek on the declining state of 9/11 education and American patriotism.
104.1 FM KMOX (St. Louis) June 3, 2026
Not all schools are required to teach about 9/11
Dr. Meek joins KMOX host Jade Aubrey to discuss the fact that only 14 states mandate 9/11 education, leaving 72% of the country without a requirement to teach one of the defining events of modern American history.
NewsRadio 1040 WHO (Des Moines) May 26, 2026
Simon Conway Show
Dr. Meek joins Simon Conway to discuss the Foundation's mission and the urgent need for active remembrance ahead of the 25th observance.
KCMO Talk Radio 95.7 FM (Kansas City) May 26, 2026
Mundo in the Morning
Dr. Meek discusses the Foundation's work and the importance of keeping September 11 present for the generations that didn't live it with Pete Mundo.
KXDJ Radio July 8, 2026
Chris Samples Show
A conversation with Dr. Meek on the Foundation's national education initiative and the role of civic engagement in preserving the memory of 9/11.
SiriusXM May 19, 2026
The Julie Mason Show: Chris Meek on 9/11 and Memorial Day
Dr. Meek joins The Julie Mason Show to connect the spirit of Memorial Day with the ongoing work of 9/11 remembrance and what active honoring of the fallen looks like today.
KLFY CBS August 11, 2026
Book featured on KLFY CBS news segment
A television segment featuring Keeping Our Nation’s Promise ahead of the September release.

Events and Availability

Speaking Availability

Dr. Chris Meek and Dave Jarecki are available for keynote presentations, panel discussions, podcast appearances, and media interviews in support of Keeping Our Nation’s Promise. Both authors bring distinct and complementary perspectives to the conversation, Dr. Meek as a 9/11 survivor, veterans’ advocate, and founder of The 9/11 Legacy Foundation and SoldierStrong, and Jarecki as a narrative writer and storyteller with deep experience crafting complex human stories.

They are available to speak to audiences including veterans organizations, universities, corporate leadership groups, civic and nonprofit organizations, schools and educational institutions, and media and journalism communities. Topics include 9/11 remembrance and active citizenship, leadership under pressure, the psychology of resilience, national unity, and the obligation each generation carries to preserve and transmit the stories that shape us.

For booking inquiries, lead times, and availability, please contact media@ournationspromise.com.

Bulk and Organizational Orders

Keeping Our Nation’s Promise is well suited for bulk purchase by veterans organizations, first responder associations, nonprofits, educational institutions, corporations, and civic groups looking to honor the 25th observance of September 11 in a meaningful way.

Bulk orders are available through Amplify Publishing Group. Signed copies and personalized bulk orders may be arranged directly through the authors for qualifying organizations, please inquire at info@ournationspromise.com.

For organizations interested in pairing the book with a speaking engagement or educational programming through The 9/11 Legacy Foundation, additional resources and curriculum materials are available at the911legacy.org.

Where to Buy

Signed copies of Keeping Our Nation's Promise are available. To request a signed copy or inquire about personalized inscriptions, please contact us at info@ournationspromise.com.

Media Contact

Interview requests, review copies, event bookings, and press inquiries. Send a note and the team will get back to you.

Why This Book, Why Now

Book Description

Target Audience

Dr. Chris Meek

Short bio

Dave Jarecki

Short bio

This is not another 9/11 book. It's a book about what came after.

More than 100 million Americans have no living memory of 9/11.

The book features some of the most authoritative voices on 9/11, some of whom have never spoken this candidly.

"Never Forget" is not enough, this book makes the case for active remembrance.

The unity that emerged after 9/11 has something to teach us right now.

More Americans have now died from 9/11-related illness than died on the day itself.

This is a book about ordinary people who did extraordinary things and what that means for the rest of us.

Part One: Leadership

Part Two: Resilience

Part Three: Legacy

Part Four: Remembering

Pitch Summary

Speaking Availability

Bulk and Organizational Orders