Join us at the Ross Pendergraft Library on Monday, September 11th, at 6:00 PM in Room 300 as we welcome author Deena Burnett Bailey to talk about her book, Fighting Back: Living Life Beyond Ourselves“as part of our Second Monday Author Series. The event is free and open to the public.
Fighting Back relates her struggle to overcome grief and personal tragedy after the death of her husband, Flight 93 hero, Tom Burnett, who perished in the 9/11 attacks.
A native of Arkansas, Burnett Bailey was raised on a cotton farm in the Desha County community of Halley. She grew up to become a flight attendant living in Georgia, which led her to meet Tom Burnett. They were married in 1992 and became parents of daughters Halley, Madison and Anna Clare.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Tom was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco. It was hijacked and later crashed in Shanksville, Pa.
Burnett Bailey wrote Fighting Back following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and it was published by Advantage Inspirational in 2006. According to information provided by the publisher, the book “demonstrates how each of us can move forward through the hardships of life and have a positive impact on others through the belief that at some point in our lives, we are all called on to be heroes.”
Copies of the book will be available for purchase during Burnett Bailey’s appearance at ATU on Monday, Sept. 11.
You can pick up a copy of Fighting Back at the Ross Pendergraft Library on the first floor, near our display featuring books and materials remembering the 22nd anniversary of September 11, 2001. You can also buy a copy for yourself through your local bookstore, Dogear Books, or wherever you get fine books.
For more information about the ATU Second Monday Author Series, contact Luke Heffley at (479) 964-0546. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or X to hear about the next Second Monday Author event.





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The annual library survey is now live and listening:
*Actual survey comment from 2022














