Description:
At a time when memory risks becoming abstraction, the profiles in Keeping Our Nation's Promise restore the human scale of history and remind us that remembering is not a passive pursuit. It's an action in which we must each take part.
There is a moment in nearly every conversation about September 11, 2001, when the story moves away from where someone was and toward the things that have stayed across the years that followed. Details 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 voices gathered here reflect a wide range of experiences--from military leaders and first responders to artists, public figures, and those whose lives were directly shaped by the day--they share a common thread: Each person in this collection decided to carry something forward.
What emerges in these pages is a collection of lived trajectories, each one offering a unique vantage point on what it means to endure, adapt, and remain connected to a day that continues to shape the present and the future.
The collaboration behind Keeping Our Nation's Promise brings together complementary perspectives. 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 create space for these accounts to be heard, lived, and shared.
Keeping Our Nation's Promise offers something that goes beyond a record of the day: an invitation to listen closely, remember, and reconsider what it means to move forward together.
Brief description:
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.
Review Quotes:
"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
"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, White House press secretary, 2001-2003
"A quarter century has passed since the horrific events that unfolded on September 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, and 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 9/11. 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