Roger Ebert’s Triumphant Attitude Toward Life Itself

Roger Ebert, photographed for a 2010 Esquire magazine profile

On June 16, 2006, renowned film critic Roger Ebert underwent surgery for cancer. A section of his jaw bone was removed, which disfigured him and rendered him unable to speak. Instead of retiring and withdrawing from public life, Ebert joyously forged full speed ahead with his life and career. Not only is he continuing to review movies, he’s written a new memoir entitled Life Itself.

Says Ebert: “I will look the way I look and express myself in print, and I will be content.” Wow. What a fantastic attitude. Ebert’s Wikipedia page quotes him as follows:

In April 2007, in an interview with WLS-TV in Chicago, he said, “I was told photos of me in this condition would attract the gossip papers — so what?” On April 23, the Sun-Times reported that, when asked about his decision to return to the limelight, Ebert remarked, “We spend too much time hiding illness.” Fans at his website have remarked his public appearances have been inspirational to cancer victims and survivors around the country.

The Roger Ebert that movie lovers came to know

In a story by John Johnson of Newser.com about Ebert’s Esquire profile, Ebert said this:

Like others who read the profile of Roger Ebert in Esquire, Ebert himself got a “jolt” when he saw the full-page photo of face, now altered by cancer surgeries. But he has no regrets about it. “Not a lovely sight,” he writes in the Chicago Sun-Times. “But then I am not a lovely sight, and in a moment I thought, well, what the hell. It’s just as well it’s out there. That’s how I look, after all.”

Letting go of what doesn’t matter and joyously engaging in life is something we all can be better at. There’s only one way to describe Ebert’s approach to life: Two thumbs up!

ABOUT PHIL BOLSTA

Phil is the author of Sixty Seconds: One Moment Changes Everything, a collection of 45 inspiring, life-changing stories from prominent people he interviewed, including Joan Borysenko, Deepak Chopra, geneticist Dr. Francis Collins, acclaimed sportswriter Frank Deford, Dr. Larry Dossey, Wayne Dyer, Dan Millman, Caroline Myss, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, Dr. Bernie Siegel, James Van Praagh, singer Billy Vera, Doreen Virtue, Neale Donald Walsch, and bassist Victor Wooten.

Here is a three-minute video that introduces you to Phil and his book. Click here to buy Sixty Seconds. Click here to ask Phil to add you to his e-mail list for updates on his blog and books.

Reading this book is like spending a few minutes face to face with each of the contributors and listening to their personal stories. Click here to read unsolicited testimonials from readers. Learn more by visiting the official Sixty Seconds website.

Sixty Seconds was one of three finalists in the General Interest/How-To category at the 12th annual Visionary Awards presented by COVR (Coalition of Visionary Resources) in Denver on June 27, 2009.

Tags: cancer, loving life, Roger Ebert