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    The Time of My Life
    The Time of My Life
    The Time of My Life
    Audiobook (abridged)5 hours

    The Time of My Life

    Written by Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi Swayze

    Narrated by Patrick Swayze

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    2010 Audie Award Finalist for Narration by the Author

    Now in paperback, the internationally bestselling heartfelt memoir from movie legend Patrick Swayze and his wife of over thirty years, Lisa Niemi, about Patrick’s remarkable career and brave battle against pancreatic cancer.

    An entertaining and inspiring behind-the-scenes look at a Hollywood life and a remarkable love, told in the words of beloved actor Patrick Swayze and his wife, Lisa Niemi, shortly before he passed away.

    In a career spanning more than thirty years, Patrick Swayze made a name for himself on the stage and screen with his versatility, passion, and fearlessness. Always a fighter, Patrick refused to let the diagnosis of stage IV pancreatic cancer in February 2008 defeat him. Patrick and Lisa’s bravery inspired legions of fans, cancer patients, and their loved ones, yet this memoir, written with wisdom and heart, recounts so much more. Revealed in vivid detail is Patrick’s Texas upbringing, his personal struggles, his rise to fame, and how his soul mate Lisa stood by his side through it all.

    The Time of My Life opens the door for families, individuals, and husbands and wives to grow, bond, and discover entirely new levels of love and sharing, proving that life shouldn’t be lived as a series of endings, but rather as the beginning of greater strength and love.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateSep 29, 2009
    ISBN9780743598316
    Author

    Patrick Swayze

    Patrick Swayze was a three-time Golden Globe–nominated actor best known for his leading-man roles in two of the most beloved pictures of all time: Ghost and Dirty Dancing. Along with these high grossing, history-making films, many of his other movies have achieved a cult following, and his television series The Beast was a critical success. Also a singer/songwriter, dancer, and stage actor, Swayze grew up in Houston, Texas. He passed away in September 2009.

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    Reviews for The Time of My Life

    4.5/5

    169 ratings18 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Very moving! What an archetypical journey! It was great to hear it all directly from Patrick and his own voice
    • 5/5
      Sad that this is an abridged version. I hope to listen to the whole audiobook someday. What a wonderful man. Of course I don’t know him on a day to day basis, but the things he did, like seeing all the fans that lined up for him, really shows his character. Rare to have such a man in Hollywood. Wish we could trade all those abusers for him. I’m glad he had such a full and adventurous life. And he found his true love and such a young age. Such a blessed couple.
    • 5/5
      So interesting to hear about his life story and his amazing marriage
    • 4/5
      The last chapter of his book was probably the most touching. His courage in fighting cancer and being able to continue with his successful career is amazing . his wife Lisa must be a very special person.
    • 5/5
      It’s rare I am brought to tears but this true story touched me deeply and helped me to understand a different life with different challenges. I loved Patrick in all of his acting glory and loved hearing his life story and love story. Thanks Lisa for helping your husband share his story at the most difficult time in your lives. You were both blessed to have found each other. Thank you. Marie❣️
    • 5/5
      Patrick did a great job narrating this. Some interesting stories. May he rest in peace.
    • 5/5
      A brilliant book about an incredible artist, a beautiful and moving story.
    • 5/5
      Fell in love with Patrick as a teenager when I seen him in The Outsiders. Loved listening to him and Lisa talked about what they went through. What a great love story.
    • 5/5
      Always loved his acting and this book brought me his life. Thanks Steve
    • 3/5
      This memoir was written co-written by Patrick and his wife, Lisa Niemi, though Patrick wrote the majority of the book, with a few small snippets interjected by Lisa. It was written during the gap of time between his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and his death 20 months later at age 57. I read the audiobook version, which is abridged, but read by Patrick (and Lisa).Patrick Swayze didn't really enter my radar until I saw him in 1987's Dirty Dancing, and like most other teens in the 80's, I love(d) that movie. I also loved his subsequent appearance in Ghost with Demi Moore, though I have to admit that I haven't seen many of the other movies that he's been in, other than (only recently) The Outsiders. But like most people, I was truly saddened to hear of his death in 2009. I knew a little bit about Patrick's history with dancing (his mother was a dance instructor), but my knowledge of him was mostly pretty basic. I really had no idea how talented he was in so many areas. The guy was motivated and driven, and if one thing didn't work out, he'd fall back on something else that he was also good at. Other than acting, he also, at other points in his life, excelled at dance (various types, but specifically ballet), singing, songwriting, football, rollerskating/ice skating, horseback riding, woodworking, piloting, and probably several others that I'm omitting. He met his wife Lisa while they were still teens in his hometown of Houston, TX.There are very few memoirs that I don't enjoy because I always learn so many interesting things about the author that I never before knew. But as far as memoirs go, I wouldn't say this ranks up there as one of the better ones I've read, though I did enjoy it for the information I learned. While it was nice to hear Patrick's voice again in this audiobook, he sounded tired, which I expect was a result of the disease process. And while I appreciate the fact that he felt such a strong love for his wife Lisa, his constant reinforcing of and references to her throughout the book were a bit much, and I didn't at all care for her audio contributions to this book, as her voice was a droning monotone. But it's definitely a memoir worth reading for anyone who's even casually a fan of Patrick Swayze. (And I really have a strong urge to go watch Dirty Dancing again, as well as some of the other well-known movies of his that I've not yet seen.)
    • 4/5
      Like many females, I had a crush on Patrick Swayze resulting from the movie "Dirty Dancing". I knew he'd been a dancer but I didn't realize how much dancing he'd done before his movie career. I was surprised to read that he'd done so well in the ballet world. I also knew his wife was a dancer but didn't realize the extent of her career in it either. I was surprised to read that both of them smoked. I wouldn't have thought dancers would be smokers--and it turned out the smoking caused problems in their airplane too as well as making it more likely that he would get hypoxic while piloting.I also didn't realize Patrick had done gymnastics (also doing quite well at it) and diving and football. I didn't realize he had knee issues stemming from football that recurred throughout his professional career. Or that he drank so much.By the time he passed away, Patrick and Lisa had been married at least 34 years. These days, I almost feel like long marriages do not happen in Hollywood, so I applaud them for staying together that long. They are honest that there were rough spots in their marriage that they had to work through, but they did work through them. I was also disappointed that he chose Buddhism. I can't really fault him for moving away from Catholicism--I too have issues with aspects of Catholicism--but if nothing else, growing up Catholic should have exposed him to the truth--something he later chose to reject. It made it hard to read about him wondering about Heaven knowing that.
    • 5/5
      What an amazing story! Mr. Swayze takes us on a journey of his life from growing up to getting pancreatic cancer. It's very interesting the types of careers he did before acting. A lot of behind the scenes information I did not know about with some of the movies he made. Very very sad at the end knowing he wrote this book the same year he died of pancreatic cancer. I did tear up at the end because he was talking about beating the cancer and everything he wanted to accomplish in the future. He was a brave man who wouldn't take no for an answer and lived life to the fullest. Yes he had his demons (we all do) and I'm glad to have read about them and how he coped/dealed with them. RIP Patrick Swayze. Highly recommended read.
    • 5/5
      If you can find the audiobook version of this, I highly suggest getting a copy.

      I grew up watching Swayze on screen, and felt a tug at my heart when I heard of the cancer. His situation really hit home for me as pictures of him near the end surfaced - having lost my own father to cancer, the similarities in their physical appearances stunned me. I knew reading the book alone wouldn't be enough for me, and waited until I was able to indulge in the audio version.

      I am glad I did! His personality is now preserved within this book, and I was able to laugh along with him & his memorable stories as I would an old friend. Every little chuckle brought a smile to my face, and hearing through his own easy drawl, the journey of the ups, downs, struggles, and accomplishments - gives me a whole new respect for Patrick Swayze. I predict I will be listening to this edition many times over throughout the years.
    • 4/5
      Great story. Just a tad repeatitive.
    • 5/5
      I love Patrick Swayze and listening to his book, his words, his voice brought it all alive. I laughed, cringed and cried. Excellent telling of his hard road to fame.
    • 3/5
      Patrick Swayze & Lisa Niemi have managed to review their lives at a very critical stage. This autobiograpgy has given me a wider perspective on how talented they both were as well as how rare and special of a love they both were blessed with.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book. I found out a whole lot about Patrick Swayze that I never knew. He really was a fighter. I think that all Patrick Swayze fans should read this book.
    • 5/5
      I've always loved Patrick Swayze and his work, loved his passion for life, and loved his absolute dedication to the people closest to him. To me, he was a wonderful, surprising man of conviction in an industry that often lack such qualities.Having said that, and knowing some of his background already, I was so touched to learn more about his life. In his autobiography, The Time of My Life, Patrick Swayze reveals many of what he felt were vulnerable aspect of his character, which included his need to master whatever skill he attempted (feeling that he always had to be good at whatever he did), his abiding love for his wife Lisa (which he revealed he always felt she wasn't as in to him as he was into her, which he later learned was totally wrong), and his deep pain over losing a much loved father and its effects on him. I was moved to hear about his vulnerable moments, to hear how he faced them, and even how he overcame the problems he developed with alcohol as he dealt with his pain. To me, Patrick Swayze's life is a real testament to the ups and downs of any person's life, and how we can approach them.As I knew heading into his life story, I also knew that the book was completed shortly before his death in September of last year. Patrick Swayze's battle with pancreatic cancer was known from the beginning, and seems to float over the book as you read, making you think, "Just give it all you've got!" From this, I mean that I kept thinking that had he known, how would he have changed things? I think we all would just say to ourselves, to dig deep and give life all you have.It seemed to me, that in the end, Patrick Swayze honored his own life and what he had accomplished through the way he battled cancer. Cancer will never define him, but strangely shed a light on all the good he had done, and reminded us all of how important it is to reach for happiness each and every day.In synopsis, I highly recommend The Time of My Life. Listen, I'm the first person to run from stories of cancer or dogs (you know...because they always die!), but this autobiography was really moving. Like any human story, it reminded me how precious life is, and even how precious we are as individuals. The walk-away message of this book is varied, and I can say that I have thought about many different aspects of my own life since reading his autobiography. All I can say is, that as a fan, but more as a fellow human being, his life touched mine for good.