Worth Fighting For: Love, Loss and Moving Forward - Tapa dura

Lisa Niemi and Patrick Swayze first met as teenagers at his mother's dance studio. He was older and just a bit cocky; she was the gorgeous waif who refused to worship the ground he walked on. It didn't take long for them to fall in love. Their thirty-four year marriage -- which they explored together in The Time of My Life -- was a uniquely passionate partnership. Now, for the first time, Lisa will share what it was like to care for her husband as he battled Stage IV pancreatic cancer, and will describe his last days when she simply tried to keep him comfortable. She writes searingly about her grief in the aftermath of Patrick's death, and candidly discusses the challenges that the past fourteen months without him have posed. But while this is an emotionally honest and unflinching depiction of illness, death, and loss, it is also a hopeful and life-affirming exploration of the power of the human spirit. Lisa shows that no matter how dark the prospect of another day may seem, there are always reserves of strength to call upon, and the love shared between two people will never truly die.

Lisa Niemi Swayze is the co-author of The Time of My Life, which she wrote with her late husband, Patrick Swayze. She wrote, directed and produced the film One Last Dance in 2004. She has held many film, television, and Broadway roles and in addition, she wrote, directed and starred in the play Without a Word with her husband, garnering six Drama Critics Awards. Before turning to directing and acting, Niemi Swayze began her professional life as a dancer. Lisa lives on a ranch outside Los Angeles.