Keeping Our Nation’s Promise

9/11 and the Stories That Still Shape Us

At a time when memory runs the risk becoming abstraction, the stories in Keeping Our Nation’s Promise revive the human scale of history and remind us that remembering is an active pursuit. It’s an experience in which we must each take part.

There is a time in nearly every conversation about September 11, 2001, when the tale moves away from where someone was to the things that have stayed in the years that followed. Some aspects change, but the pattern holds: lives interrupted then reshaped, sometimes quietly, sometimes in ways that ripple forward for decades.

Keeping Our Nation’s Promise comes from those moments. While the profiles gathered here illustrate a wide variety of experiences—from first responders and military leaders to public figures, artists, and those who were directly shaped by the day—they share a common thread: Each person in these pages chose to carry something forward.

 

What emerges is a collection of lived trajectories, each one offering a unique perspective on what it means to endure, adapt, and stay connected to a day that still shapes the present and the future.

The partnership behind Keeping Our Nation’s Promise brings together complementary vantage points. Dr. Chris Meek approaches this work through a long-standing commitment to national service and remembrance. Dave Jarecki brings a narrative lens shaped by years of listening, structuring, and crafting complex human stories with care. Together, they craft space for these accounts to be heard, lived, and shared.

 

 

Keeping Our Nation’s Promise goes beyond a record of the day: it's an invitation to listen closely, remember, and rethink what it means to move forward together.

 

$36.00
Request a Bulk Quote
ISBN: 979-8-90026-216-1
Imprint: Amplify Publishing
SKU: 18-1649-01
Categories:Timely Politics and Current Affairs, Amplify Publishing, History

“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, Governor of New York, 1995–2006

“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. (Ret.), Chief of staff, United States Army, 2007–2011

“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.), Surgeon general, United States Army, and commanding general of the US Army Medical Command, 2011–2015

“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, NFL MVP, 1988, and Walter Payton Man of the Year, 1995

“Keeping Our Nation’s Promise reminds us that 9/11 was a day of loss and a test of who we are. 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, Deputy secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, 2009–2013

Dr. Chris Meek

Philanthropist, Financial Services Executive, and Founder of the 9/11 Legacy Foundation

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. The charitable organization assists America’s military veterans in taking their next steps forward through the donation of revolutionary medical technology. He is also 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 ACT-IAC “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 the 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 and his second book, Everyday Triumph: Extraordinary Stories of Hope, Resilience, and Impact, in 2025.

Meek is the executive producer of The Heroism and Resiliency of 9/11, a documentary film directed by Michael Gier and narrated by Gary Sinise. Released in 2026, the film earned Documentary of the Year honors at the CENFLO Film Festival, the Silver Award for Feature Documentary at the London Movie Awards, and Film of the Year at the Beaufort Film Festival.

Dave Jarecki

Writer, Interviewer, Storyteller

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.

Related products