Bookreporter.com - THE TIME OF MY LIFE by Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi

THE TIME OF MY LIFE
Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi
Atria Books
Memoir
ISBN: 9781439158586

Depending on your perspective, THE TIME OF MY LIFE will read like a biography or a swashbuckling adventure story. We all know Patrick Swayze as a dancer and an actor, but few realize that he was a horseman, pilot and daredevil. In this memoir, his life story is presented with somber pathos juxtaposed with a sense of humor that was true to Swayze himself.

Swayze’s story begins when he was young. His aptitude for dancing (which he learned from his mother) and the arts eventually led him to seek a career in acting. But stardom is rarely bestowed immediately, and Swayze was no exception to this rule. Nevertheless, after a rocky start in Hollywood, he managed to land some great roles and was awarded the opportunity to work with such up-and-coming talents as Tom Cruise, Charlie Sheen and Rob Lowe, as well as many other big or soon-to-be-big names. One of my favorite parts of the book is reading about all the practical jokes that the actors would play on one another, which gives the reader a sense that they truly loved what they were doing and enjoyed each other’s company.

Although he was beginning to make a name for himself, Swayze wouldn’t hit it big until the release of Dirty Dancing in 1987, which went on to be one of the highest grossing movies of the year. In 1990, he again proved his star power with Ghost, which earned more than double the total of Dirty Dancing. While he was riding high, the rigors of acting took its toll, and he ended up in a rehab hospital for alcohol abuse. At this time, he had taken on a new adventure: flying airplanes. “I had wanted to be a pilot all my life, and I decided to start taking flying lessons. When you fly an airplane, you’re taking on all kinds of responsibility, so there is no room for wallowing in alcohol or allowing your demons to get the better of you.” He made a choice, and from that point on, he knew he couldn’t let alcohol encumber him any longer.

Although he cleaned himself up, Swayze’s life was still marred with guilt and tragedy when his sister, Vicky, committed suicide in 1994. Bipolar, Vicky wasn’t able to keep life’s ups and downs in balance and decided that death was her only way out. It was a terrible blow to Swayze, and he often wondered if he had done enough to save her or if there was any way he could’ve prevented her untimely death. But he knew that he had to soldier on and fight through the pain.

And that’s what he did his whole life: fight. For as long as anyone could remember, Swayze had been a fighter --- not in a territorial, pugilistic sense, but as a man who would do what it takes to survive. His mantra was “You can’t beat me.” When he received the news that he had been stricken with stage IV pancreatic cancer, he was faced with the biggest fight of his life. And he did not let it beat him. He continued to act, ride his beloved horses and live a full life with his beautiful screenwriter-director wife, Lisa Niemi. “I wasn’t ready to go, and I was damned if this disease was going to take me before I was good and ready.” He had to go on living, for if he hadn’t, the cancer would have won. Even though it ended up taking his life, it never took away his spirit.

As a pancreatic cancer survivor, I understand the struggles that Swayze faced. The medications, treatments and procedures that are meant to help you survive longer can make you feel like throwing in the towel. Your outlook on life and the love and support of friends and family are the only things that help you get through each day. Each page of this book is filled with Swayze’s passion for life, and hopefully it will inspire you to go out and live your own life to the fullest.

--- Reviewed by Marge Fletcher

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