After their homecoming to Tucson this past weekend, Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly have a bit of news to share today: Kelly will be retiring as NASA commander and the couple has signed a memoir deal with Scribner. Kelly shared his "not an easy decision" retirement news in a Facebook post and told the Associated Press about the deal for the as-yet untitled book. The project will be ghostwritten by Jeffrey Zaslow, author of Capt. "Sully" Sullenberger's Highest Duty, and will chronicle "everything from their careers and courtship" through the shooting tragedy in January.

Kelly told the AP that "after thinking about it, and talking about it, we decided it was the right thing to do to put our words and our voices on paper and tell our story from our point of view." He'll now have the time to commit to the project. He signed off from the Navy and NASA today with these wistful remarks:

As life takes unexpected turns we frequently come to a crossroads. I am at this point today. Gabrielle is working hard every day on her mission of recovery. I want to be by her side. Stepping aside from my work in the Navy and at NASA will allow me to be with her and with my two daughters. I love them all very much and there is no doubt that we will move forward together. After some time off, I will look at new opportunities and am hopeful that one day I will again serve our country.

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Erik Hayden