SMYRNA—The local author of a book about turning his life around using prayer and faith will be holding a book signing on Wednesday, May 8, at the Chancery in Smyrna.

Richard Hardy, the author of “God’s Gladiator,” will be at the Chancery from 10:30 a.m.–4 p.m. All are welcome to stop in for the signing and an opportunity to visit with Hardy.

In his introduction, Hardy said, “Yes, there is a living God and there are angels. I experienced both God and angels. And I lived these experiences when struggling in the national and international business world as an accountant and corporate manager.”

“God’s Gladiator” is a first-person account of Hardy’s life, as a man who met God like Saul of Tarsus, not on the road to Damascus, but in a hotel room in Germany while about to betray his fellow colleague. The true story of a determined German immigrant who climbed up the ladder in the business world, the book describes how he met the Ku Klux Klan, the powerful Odessa Nazi organization, and evaded a firing squad execution by fascists in Uruguay. The Palestinian Liberation Organization also helped him escape Beirut during a brutal civil war dressed as a Muslim warrior.

Hardy is a retired certified public accountant who offers consulting services to the Archdiocese of Atlanta’s finance staff. He resides with his wife, Maria, in Tucker, is a parishioner of Holy Cross Church, and a first degree member of the Knights of Columbus.