Not Fade Away

My husband recently smirked to his cousin, "I think Tonya may be from the family of Paul."  Not the Apostle Paul...  Uncle Paul, his cousin's dad.  Paul loves to talk and loves a good story.  I can hold my own with Uncle Paul.  I love a great story!  Not so much a great "guess what ridiculous thing happened to me at the grocery store today" story, but a story about a life journey.  I will sit and listen to you talk day and night about your life's tragedies and triumphs, gains and losses, miracles, lessons learned, growth, change and evolution.  I love that stuff!

Several weeks ago I was meeting a friend at the coffee shop and she was late.  To keep myself busy, I browsed the coffee shop bookshelf for a little something to read.  The book I picked had an interesting picture on the cover and a subtitle that I love -- in fact, I can never even remember the title of the book, but the subtitle I know!

Not Fade Away - A Short Life Well Lived

I love this man's heart. 

He was diagnosed with cancer at 48 and knew that it was terminal at the age of 51.  He invited a writer into his life during his final months on earth to help him write this beautiful memoir, primarily as a gift to his wife and children. 

I have written and deleted this paragraph several times now.  I just do not know how to do this book justice with my own words.  I will certainly fail miserably.

In this book, Peter shares the heart of a cancer patient, the deep love of a husband and father, the passions and desires of a young man, the nagging fears and insecurities of a hugely successful businessman, the anguish of a young boy having lost his father in adolescence, the love of a son leaving his mother too soon.

I could barely put this book down.  I just loved it.  I was inspired to always love deeply, to share openly, to know and be known, to give more than I take, and to keep my eyes on the right prize.

This is the kind of book I want to share with friends.  Like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.  My friend Erin will be getting it in a couple of days.  Who wants it after Erin?  It's all yours...on one condition.  You must pass it on when you're finished!