Life's That Way - by Jim Beaver (Paperback)

About the Book

Beaver, a character actor, and his wife Cecily not only learned that their daughter was autistic but also that Cecily suffered from lung cancer. Beaver began sending e-mails to family and friends regarding Cecily's condition; this work is a compilation of those nightly e-mails.

Book Synopsis

A remarkable memoir that shows the capacity of the human heart to heal after the challenge of having to say goodbye.

Even the hardest lessons contain great gifts.

Jim Beaver and his wife Cecily Adams appeared to have it all-following years of fertility treatments, they were finally parents and they were building their dream home and successful Hollywood careers. Life was good. But then their daughter, Maddie, was diagnosed as autistic. Weeks later, Cecily, a non-smoker, was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. Sadly, after 14 years of marriage, Jim became a widower and a single dad.

Faced with overwhelming grief, Jim reached out to family and friends by writing a nightly email-a habit he established when Cecily was first diagnosed. Initially a cathartic exercise for Jim, the prose became an unforgettable journey for his readers. Life's That Way is a compilation of those profound, compelling emails.

Review Quotes

aTo have known and read this man over these years, reveals to me I knew nothing of what love could and should be.a
aEdward Asner
aWhen this journal first appeared, I learned to keep a jumbo-size box of tissues at the ready. You will crya and laughaas Jim unwraps his unvarnished heart and soul. It will evoke memories of everyone who ever touched your heart and remind you to talk from your heart to the people who mean something to you.a
aRussell Friedman, coauthor of "The Grief Recovery
Handbook" and "When Children Grieve" "Jim Beaver, the laconic character actor best known as the appealing prospector, aEllsworth, a on "Deadwood" has written a compassionate, funny, searing, and ultimately transcending memoir chronicling a year of tragedy, grief, and survival that would send the strongest of men, even an ex-marine and West Texas preacheras son, to their knees. As Jim puts it, aIam no Job a though I think we went to the same school.a That his story is so compulsively readable, inspiring, and ultimately hopeful is due entirely to Jimas bracing honesty, dry humor, and deeply felt humanity. Read this book, tell your friends about it, and then go hug your loved ones.a
a Robert Schenkkan, Pulitzer Prize winner for "The Kentucky Cycle,"

"Jim Beaver, the laconic character actor best known as the appealing prospector, aEllsworth, a on "Deadwood" has written a compassionate, funny, searing, and ultimately transcending memoir chronicling a year of tragedy, grief, and survival that would send the strongest of men, even an ex-marine and West Texas preacheras son, to their knees. As Jim puts it, aIam no Job a though I think we went to the same school.a That his story is so compulsively readable, inspiring, and ultimately hopeful is due entirely to Jimas bracing honesty, dry humor, and deeply felt humanity. Read this book, tell your friends about it, and then go hug your loved ones.a
a Robert Schenkkan, Pulitzer Prize winner for "The Kentucky Cycle,"

About the Author

Jim Beaver is an actor best known for his roles on HBO's Deadwood, the CW's Supernatural, and FX's Justified. Beaver is also a playwright, screenwriter, film historian, and Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam. He is the author of Life's That Way, a memoir in the form of emails sent to family and friends during the most challenging time of his life.