14 DAY TRIAL // “Dirty Dancing” and “Ghost” star Patrick Swayze died quietly in his wife’s arms at the family home a few days ago after an almost two-year-long battle with pancreatic cancer. His tell-all memoir, written with the help of high-school sweetheart and wife Lisa Niemi, “The Time of My Life,” will be released just weeks after his death, arriving in bookstores on September 29, ABC News informs.
The book, announced as early as February this year, will detail the actor’s battle with pancreatic cancer from the moment he was diagnosed until his final days. It will also describe the star’s reaction to the “cruel joke” of the diagnosis, as well as his determination to continue acting, not taking any painkillers not to affect his performance, and the hope he never lost that he would live until the doctors found a cure. At the same time, it will also show the actor had made peace with death.
“Actor Patrick Swayze made peace with the notion of dying from pancreatic cancer after initially finding his diagnosis a ‘cruel joke,’ according to a memoir to be published later this month. The ‘Dirty Dancing’ star, 57, who lost his 20-month battle against the disease on Monday, wrote that fighting his cancer had been an ‘emotional rollercoaster.’” ABC News says.
“I had been excited about the upswing my life was on. Now it all seemed like a cruel joke. I couldn’t be dying – I had too much to live for!” Patrick wrote of how he reacted when he learned his life had suddenly a very definite “deadline,” as doctors had told him he wouldn’t live for another six months, let alone years. Determination and hopes soon kicked in: Swayze wanted to fight the disease and make it for at least a few more years until they found a cure.
However, he was happy with the life he had. “I began thinking to myself, I’ve had more lifetimes than any 10 people put together, and it’s been an amazing ride. So this is okay.” he wrote in the book. In fact, at one point, Patrick gave himself all to his work, even refusing to take painkillers because they would affect his performance. Those were the days when he had hope again but, as the book will show, his mood varied from day to day, mostly because of the terrible pain he was in.
“There are days when I feel determined to live until a cure is found, and truly believe I can do it. And there are days when I’m so tired, I just don’t know how I can keep on going.” Patrick Swayze wrote. He lost the battle, but his brave example has moved millions of fans and inspired fellow sufferers by showing them they are not alone.