Jeff Bauman To Visit Framingham Days Before the Marathon

Jeff Bauman, the 27-year-old survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing attack, who came to define ‘Boston Strong’ in the wake of the bombings, will visit Framingham days before the 118th running of the Boston Marathon.

Bauman, will be at The Paper Store in Shoppers World in Framingham on Saturday, April 19 from 2 to 4 p.m. to sign copies of his inspirational memoir Stronger.

Co-written with New York Times bestselling co-writer Bret Witter, Stronger tells the story of the man who not only survived the Boston Marathon bombing, but also described suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev when he woke up from surgery after having lost both of his legs. What followed was one of the largest manhunts in the country’s history based on Bauman’s description.

Bauman lost both of his legs in the explosion, but he never lost his optimism and determination. Wasting no time on bitterness or anger, Bauman accepted his situation and vowed to work hard, recover, and walk again one year after the bombing – a goal which he is close to achieving on schedule.

Stronger is his uplifting, incredible tale about the power of the human spirit to overcome all obstacles and persevere. It reminds us that whether it’s one man, a city, or the country as a whole – we will always be stronger than terrorists could ever be.

Almost a year later, Bauman, one of the best-known survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing, is engaged to his longtime girlfriend, and they're expecting a child. They live in Chelmsford.

Stronger was published Tuesday, April 8.

Excerpts from the book:

"I know exactly when my life changed: when I looked into the face of Tamerlan Tsarnaev. It was 2:48 PM on April 15, 2013 - one minute before the most high profile terrorist event on United States soil since September 11th--and he was standing right beside me."

"I had arrived half an hour earlier, with my friends Remy and Michele, to cheer for my girlfriend, Erin Hurley. Even then, the sidewalks were clogged ten deep, and the restaurants and bars were filled with people in Red Sox gear and Boston shirts. The best runners, who qualified for the first start time, had finished hours before, but the runners kept coming, and the crowd kept growing. Most of these people, including Erin, were running for charity. They were the average runners, the ones who needed and deserved our support. Everywhere I looked, people were cheering and clapping, yelling for them to keep going, the finish line was close, they were almost there. And then I noticed Tsarnaev."

"I don’t know how he got beside me. I just remember looking over my right shoulder and seeing him. He was standing close, maybe a foot away, and there was something off about him. He was wearing sunglasses and a white baseball cap pulled low over his face, and he had on a hooded jacket that seemed too heavy, even on a cool day. The thing that really struck me, though, was his demeanor. Everyone was cheering and watching the race. Everyone was enjoying themselves. Except this guy. He was alone, and he wasn’t having a good time. He was all business."

"I saw a man in a yellow cowboy hat lift the barrier off Michele, then turn toward me, and the next thing I knew he was grabbing my shirt and twisting it around his fist. He lifted me off the ground with one hand, spun around and threw me into a wheelchair that had been intended for runners too tired to walk after finishing the race."

"The tourniquet on my right leg pulled loose. It got stuck in the wheel and tore off, and suddenly there was a second man there, and the two of them were holding my right leg and squeezing to stop the bleeding. I reached down and grabbed my left leg, trying to do the same. A photographer appeared out of the chaos, kneeling in the road as we rushed past, snapping pictures. I thought, What is he doing here?"

Six months after the bombing:

"I wasn't at the parade. And I wasn't there for game 6 when the Red Sox won the championship at fenway for the first time since 1918. The sox and the Bruins invited me to four games that summer. The Boston team lost all of them. I had to stay home."