GRACE under Pressure John Baldoni GRACE under pressure: John Baldoni with James R. Hagerty
“No one understands the treasures to be found in life stories better than James R. Hagerty,” the New York Times bestselling author Bob Greene said in an advance review of Hagerty’s “Yours Truly.”
“Yours Truly” provides inspiring examples of life stories including both personal triumphs and disasters and injecting a dose of humor whenever possible.
At The Wall Street Journal, Hagerty is known for writing about people who weren’t famous but lived fascinating lives. His motto: If obituaries can’t be fun, what’s the point of dying?
“Yours Truly” explains why and how people should take charge of the narrative of their life by writing or recording their memories, in long or short form. Having written more than 1,000 obituaries in the past seven years, Hagerty believes that everyone has interesting stories to tell and that preserving them can be the best gift ever given to friends and loved ones. “Being famous is not a prerequisite for valuing and preserving your best stories and the lessons you’ve learned,” he says.
Contrary to popular belief, telling and preserving those stories isn’t a chore to be taken up only in old age, Hagerty writes. Instead, young and middle-aged people should start keeping notes, recordings and annotated pictures.
Hagerty, who grew up in North Dakota and has lived in Pittsburgh since 2005, is The Wall Street Journal’s lead obituary writer.