We all have bad days. But when that bad day involves suicidal thoughts, psychologists prefer to label it clinical depression. That was exactly what happened to CNN and Inside Edition anchor, Jim Moret. Like many of us during the recession, he faced some days of career crisis, financial stress, and personal relationship anxiety that, when bundled together, propelled him to review his own life-insurance policy and determine that he was worth more dead than alive.
“The Last Day of My Life” begins with that chilling anecdote and then proceeds through a review course of one life. Jim’s story is one of relationships, a child used as a pawn in a Hollywood divorce battle, the loss as a boy of two best friends, and finally, it meanders into human triumph. The successful relationships that include long-term marriage (not one without bumps), his three healthy and happy children, and his deep personal adult friendships. Throughout the book, he prompts the reader to ask themselves what would they do if they had only twenty four hours to live.
“Should you finally forgive the one who hurt you the most and would you find the courage to apologize to the person you wronged? Who would you remember as your life’s greatest love? Could you recognize what you are truly grateful for?”
I have actually met Jim Moret a couple times in my life but would never have known his depth, had he not been brave enough to write this honest, touching book. It is part memoir, part self-help book and a reminder to us all that no matter our career or our circumstance, we are all humans stumbling and making difficult choices everyday. This book is the great equalizer. We all have had anxiety during the recession. We have all lost loved ones. We have all had anxious moments as parents. But Jim, though his own moving prose, reminds us that relationships are everything, and certainly worth living for. Jim, you certainly made the right choice on “The Last Day of Your Life” and we are all the beneficiaries!
You should have a proof reader.