July 2008: Books About Celebrities

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Somewhere in Heaven: The Remarkable Love Story of Dana and Christopher Reeve (Hyperion)

By Christopher Andersen

After the actor Christopher Reeve was paralyzed from the shoulders down in a 1995 horseback-riding accident, it would have been understandable for a man who became famous playing an indestructible superhero, a man who was a true outdoorsman and athlete (a sailor, pilot and horseback rider), to wallow in self-pity and succumb to despair. Instead, as Andersen vividly relates, Reeve, with the encouragement and support of his beloved wife, Dana, rises from the darkness that accompanies his disability and lives a life rich with purpose and love.

Love is the thread that binds the story of Dana and Christopher Reeve. Love locked on to the two of them the night they met in 1987 and never once retreated. Through the mental strain that accompanied Reeve's accident to the minutiae of caring for someone with such a severe disability, the couple navigated every situation with bravery and resolve. Their story is one of strength and perseverance, but most strikingly and hauntingly, their story speaks of the power and beauty of unyielding, unconditional love. Even knowing the outcome -- as we all do -- doesn't dampen the joy their love story exudes, the awe at their resilience, the pain of their tragedy, or the great loss suffered by all who loved them.

-- Lisa Gerry

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