Book ~ "Twelve Months" (2012) Steven Manchester

From StevenManchester.com ~ Don DiMarco has a very good life – a family he loves, a comfortable lifestyle, passions and interests that keep him amused. He also thought he had time but that turned out not to be the case. Faced with news that might have immediately felled most, Don now wonders if he has time enough. Time enough to show his wife the romance he didn’t always lavish on her. Time enough to live out his most ambitious fantasies. Time enough to close the circle on some of his most aching unresolved relationships. Summoning an inner strength he barely realized he possessed, Don sets off to prove that twelve months is time enough to live a life in full. 

A glorious celebration of each and every moment that we’re given here on Earth, as well as the eternal bonds that we all share, Twelve Months is a stirring testament to the power of the human spirit.

What would you do if you were told that you only had twelve months left?

Don DiMarco is in his 50s and assumed he was going to live to be an old man.  But then he gets the news that this isn't so.  His doctor tells him he has twelve months ... that's it.

How does he want to spend his last year? He makes a list of things he wants to do which includes deep sea fishing, hang out on a ranch, buying and RV and traveling and being a racecar driver.  What he realizes along the way is that spending time with his friends and family and giving of himself is the most precious thing.


I enjoyed the writing style.  Though fiction, it reads like a memoir written by Don.

I liked Don and his wife, Bella.  I could feel the connection between them.  Bella obviously doesn't want to lose Don but she respects that there are things he has to do before his time runs out.

The lesson ... don't wait until the end of your life to start enjoying all the magical moments that are waiting for you.