Once an all-star pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, Dave Dravecky lost the deltoid muscle in his pitching arm to cancer in 1988. Defying all the odds, he came back to pitch again a year later. Just five days after a stunning performance, securing a 4-3 win for his team, Dravecky sustained two successive and devastating injuries to his arm that ended his pitching career for good.
In subsequent years, Dravecky would lose his entire arm, his left shoulder blade, and the left side of his collarbone to cancer. But whenever God closes a door, he opens a window—and the window He opened for Dave led to a career as a best-selling author. Dravecky’s award-winning first book, Comeback, sold over 650,000 copies.
An in-demand speaker, Dave is known for delivering messages of hope and inspiration—to both Christian and secular audiences. Along with his wife, Jan, Dravecky is also the founder of Dave Dravecky’s Outreach of Hope, a nonprofit organization and ministry dedicated to helping cancer survivors.
When her husband’s cancer returned after a dramatic comeback with the New York Giants, Jan Dravecky spiraled into a deep depression—one —that refused to lift. As her mental condition darkened, Jan faced misunderstandings from well-intentioned friends and family —who admonished her to "snap out of it" or "pray through it."
Jan’s journey back to happiness provides a powerful source of encouragement and faith to readers of every background. Today, Jan is co-author of the well-regarded Christian titles Do Not Lose Heart and Stand By Me. She is also the co-founder of the nonprofit organization and ministry Outreach of Hope, dedicated to helping survivors of cancer.