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

by Christopher Andersen

"Dana is my life force." --Christopher Reeve "A terrible thing happened. I wish it hadn't. But would I change who I married Never." --Dana Reeve He was a hero in every sense of the word--the chiseled-from-granite star of four blockbuster Superman films and the romantic classic Somewhere in Time who, after being paralyzed in a freak horseback riding accident, became a symbol of hope for millions. Dana Reeve was no less heroic, standing steadfastly by her husband's side until his surprisingly sudden and unexpected death at age fifty-two. When Dana, a non-smoker, passed away from lung cancer just seventeen months after Chris's death, she left behind their thirteen-year-old son, Will, to be raised by friends and family. Dana was only forty-four years old. That fate could have dealt such a cruel hand to this golden couple seemed unfathomable. That they could endure it all with grace, courage, and humor defied belief. Yet for all the millions of words that have been written about their public causes and private struggles following Chris's accident, little is known about the lives they led as passionate young lovers. Now, in the manner of his poignant-yet-stirring bestsellers Jack and Jackie, Jackie After Jack, An Affair to Remember, The Day Diana Died, After Diana , and The Day John Died , No. l New York Times bestselling author Christopher Andersen draws on those who knew them best to examine in touching detail the Reeves' unique partnership and the romance, faith, and fortitude that defined it. Sometimes heartbreaking, often uplifting, always compelling, Somewhere in Heaven is more than just a portrait of a marriage. It is the profoundly human story of two souls whose brief lives made a difference, a bittersweet saga of tragedy, triumph, and loss, and--above all else--a love story for the ages.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Tragedy, Inspirational, Romance, Memoir

256 pages, Hardcover

First published July 8, 2008

About the author

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Christopher Peter Andersen is an American journalist and the author of 32 books, including many bestsellers. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Andersen joined the staff of Time Magazine as a contributing editor in 1969. From 1974 to 1986 Andersen was senior editor of Time Incorporated's People Magazine. He has also written for a wide range of publications, including The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Life, and Vanity Fair.

While his early nonfiction books veered from psychology (The Name Game) to true crime (The Serpent's Tooth) to art collecting ('The Best of Everything', with former Sotheby's chairman John Marion), he is best known for his controversial biographies. Between 1991 and 2011, he published 14 New York Times bestselling biographies. Andersen wrote Mick: The Wild Life and Mad Genius of Jagger to mark the 50th anniversary of the Rolling Stones in July 2012. The book quickly became Andersen's 15th New York Times bestseller.

Reviews

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the book that had me crying at the beginning and end, even every chapter in between, and all for the right reasons. It was one thing to meet and fall deeply in love with someone, and another to stay with him/her against all odds. Dana and Christopher Reeve’s love story is a testament that it is not impossible to find a love that is great and true even through the hard times. Christopher saw Dana as his rock—I would like to believe she was his superhero all along. And Dana...I actually thought of this quote after reading her story: “To love a person is to see all of their magic, and to remind them of it when they have forgotten.”

I do not know who Christopher Reeve was aside from the movies Superman and Somewhere in Time (and from my memory of him being one of my childhood favorite actors), and so I am glad to have stumbled upon this heartwarming story of his and Dana’s courage and love.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotional and heartwrenching, this is still an excellent book! I learned a lot more about Christopher and Dana Reeve and their friends and family in Christopher Andersen's wonderful story.

One of the most interesting facts is that Chris and Robin Williams were roommates at Julliard!

But, I also picked up intimate details of Chris & Dana's life, especially after he was injured. There were lots of little things I didn't know like how much movement he had towards the end of his life. He actually had feeling in approximately 70% of his body (including his right hand, left fingers and his back) when he passed away. He had also been doing exercises to keep his muscles moving that eventually helped increase his mobility.

Dana was a rock. She stood by him for better or worse during this difficult ordeal. After it was over, it wasn't really. She made a commitment to continue his cause and then her mother got ill and passed away, she was diagnosed with lung cancer and her father had a stroke during Thanksgiving dinner. Dana passed away less than 2 years after Chris.

Through everything, we saw courage and adversity. Now, we see that in their son and Chris' other 2 children.

[Bon Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's one of those things. When you hear about it in the news, it simply doesn't sound plausible. I think it's the right word because this is exactly as it sounds: a theory, hypothesis of certain somebody (whom you quickly dismantle as nobody because of how outrages it is) about something impossible happening to pretty much everybody's childhood hero. And it doesn't stop there, the chain of bad luck had to, for some diabolical reasons, extend to his beautiful wife and her mother. It's that damn perennial question, why bad things happen to good people, and in such amount. If you ever had problems accepting that fact, this book makes it undeniably real. I was even more sad when I found out it was end of the game just when the hope started to emerge on horizon and things are starting getting better. There was a real hope of recovery. RIP Chris, to me, you always were, and will be, a super man. Your life and bravery is proof of that.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a remarkable book about a remarkable couple. Dana was a saint standing by her man when he became paralyzed after accidentally falling off his horse during the Memorial Day weekend in 1995. If it weren't for this love, compassion, support, and care, there was no way actor Christopher Reeve would have had the strength to continue his life. Christopher Reeve became famous as "Superman" in a series of movies about the action hero. His Superwoman was Dana Reeve. Dana died of lung cancer a little more than a year after her husband Reeve died of a massive heart attack, due to compulsions of some of the physical problems he had stemming from being paralyzed. This is a beautiful love story. As some many of their friends and family have indicated, Chris and Dana were lucky to have found each other. They are survived by their son Will, who was lucky to have such loving parents.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this today and was completely amazed at my reaction even though I KNEW what was going to happen. Dana Reeve sounds like an amazing woman, one we'd all like to call our friend. She is an optimist with an incredible burden but carried out pretty casually due to a deep love and devotion to her husband and family. I cannot imagine being the surviving son- an orphan at 13. I think the part that really got me was the fact that this young boy lost both parents and his maternal grandmother in a 16 month span of time. I cannot imagine. This does make me wonder about the survival of other quadriplegics. I had no idea how prone to infection and complication they live with daily. This is more a love story than anything else. Hence, the title...

[Anup Sinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a story, don’t know what else to say. I thought I had an idea what Chris and Dana Reeve went through but I really didn’t and it is awe-inspiring how much good they were able to do to help other people given their situation.

I was frustrated a little with the first half of the book, just because it was very repetitive and there was a lot of the author (Christopher Andersen) telling you what to think rather than showing you. But the last 80 pages or so, covering the accident and beyond, were outstanding to his credit. And to my fault, I was hoping for a thorough biography but that isn’t really what he meant his book to be.

I was also under the false impression that Dana Reeve was so devastated by Chris’s death that she fell apart, leading to her own death 17 months later. NOTHING could be further from the truth, she was strong to the end, helping others and raising her son only to succumb to a freak diagnosis of Stage 4 Lung Cancer despite never having smoked in her life.

Even after her diagnosis and illness, she was still enthusiastic and inspiring. Her singing performance at Mark Messier’s retirement ceremony at Madison Square Gardens was phenomenal.

And it is true, her husband Christopher Reeve is a real life hero, not just a big screen one. And so is Dana.

[Penny · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I had read Still me (Christopher Reeve's autobiography) I was interested in this book as well. As it turns out, this book is more about Dana than Christopher. During her marriage to Chris, Dana seemed to stay out of the news and was quite content to do so.

The book goes into a great deal of detail about how supportive Dana was during the years after the injury that left Chris a quadriplegic. The book also speaks very openly about how hard it was to cover medical expenses. At the time of his death the health insurance Chris had was reaching his "lifetime limit". What an absurd idea. Are you supposed to die once you reach the limit? Go on Medicare and live the most meager life imaginable?

If Christopher Reeve, with all of the resources he had available, was concerned about health insurance...well..you can imagine what that says for the rest of us.

A touching story and not at all morbid. Very honest, up front and something anyone might find interesting.

[Toby Brennen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had "Somewhere in Heaven: The Remarkable Love Story of Dana and Christopher Reeve" on my bookshelf for quite some time. I typically don't like touchy-feely biographies but the touchstone event of the Reeves' tale occurred not far from where I grew up in Virginia. Beginning the story of the first meeting of Christopher and Dana makes them human; weathering the constant physical and emotional struggles made them (yes, both) superhuman. Christopher Andersen's telling is positive yet pragmatic, sentimental but not sappy, and by the end you'll be cheering and crying at the same time - and wondering "what if . . ." In 1978, you were led to believe a man could fly. "Somewhere in Heaven" leads you to believe a man, a superMan, could walk. [4 of 5]

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a love story! The thing that made this book so compelling is the real world struggle of caring for and loving a spouse with an all encompassing disability. This book truly gave me perspective on the petty issues that I get upset about and allowed me to refocus on the true meaning of being in love with a person, not what they can do, not what they accomplish, but with them as an individual.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are parts of this book that just amaze me. I think Dana Reeve is a remarkable woman and I just enjoyed reading about their family's challenges and triumphs.

[Sher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is remarkable on many levels. To read of the courage of this couple and their family gives hope to others in a similar predicament. I only hope I can be somewhere close to as valiant in my own similar situation. I have a brother who has ALS, my only living sibling, and I have taken it upon myself to help him stay focused on the things that he still has, including the love of his wife and family. I hope it helps. As of this point in time, we know what the outcome of his disease will be, and knowing that makes it easy to get into a funk of self-pity. I’m trying to stay out of that trap, and trying to help him avoid it as well. Thanks to Chris and Dana Reeve, I do have great role models to look to during the bad times.

[Debi Emerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like many, I fell in love with Christopher Reeve after seeing "Superman I"; then fell in love all over again with "Somewhere in Time" - to this day, I list it as one of my all time favorite movies. Also like many, I was saddened when I heard of the riding accident that paralyzed him. When his book, "Still Me" can out, I devoured it eagerly & was inspired. Then came the death of first Christopher, closely followed by Dana. This book is an excellent look inside their lives: what inspired them to go on and what continues to inspire their son. As one reviewer said, "An amazing book about two amazing people." I highly recommend it!

[Melissa Coffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautiful love story is the kind of love we all dream about finding. I remember admiring Dana so much when she was taking care of Chris after his terrible accident. This book dives into their beautiful and tragic love story and it absolutely broke my heart. I think about her all the time and always have since she passed away in 2006. They both died way too soon and both made such a huge difference while they were here. This book is amazing! I hope they are together forever!

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m in tears. What a couple! What a woman Dana was! There is so much to learn from this story and its heroes. I think my biggest take-away, as someone who is chronically ill, is that neither ever complained about their circumstances. They were determined fighters and overcomers. Can I be like that? (I listened to an audio copy of the book from my local library.)

[Jessalyn Plant · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting. I did not know very much about Chris Reeves and knew nothing about Dana. After reading it, I have profound respect for Dana. She was truly an incredible woman. Another aspect for this book is learning a bit more about how daily life may look for a paraplegic. Very educational and emotional.

[Ranette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having lived through the career of the Reeve's family through media, I felt a great heartbreak reading this book. This family kept smiling, and used these tragedies to begin foundations to help others. This was a difficult life to read and live. Bless them.

[Elizabeth Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the most wonderful books that I have ever read. It came from the heart and if you ever wanted to know the type of person that Christopher Reeve and his wife was, this is definitely the book for you because it comes from the heart and soul of both of them.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick and enjoyable read. I hadn't realized that Dana had also died or that their son was so young when Christopher had his accident. I read this as part of the extreme book nerd challenge 2019 in the biography category.

[Ketti · Rating 4 out of 5]

So inspiring, a beautiful but sad story of love and devotion.
Truly remarkable!

Favorite quote - “Chris, with Dana steadfastly at his side, would battle back to become both a leader in the fight to cure spinal cord injuries and a symbol of hope for millions.”

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great biography of two exceptional people, their lives, struggles, and deaths. Well worth reading.

[Donna Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an endearing memoir of Dana and Christopher Reeve. It is a true example of unconditional love for one another and their family

[Caroline Mcphail-Lambert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming love story about two exceptional people.

[Jo Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a sad but beautiful story of the love shared by Christopher and Dana Reeve. I would only hope to love and be loved in such a strong and courageous way.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always love a true story.

[Peggy Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

We listened to this on our 31st Anniversary as we drove home from Norfolk. A great love story and inspiration!

[Bonnie Polis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story of the true love and devotion of these two remarkable people.

[Lynette Caulkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed learning about these remarkable people.

[Louise Mauch]

A beautifully written and easy to read story filled with strength, love, and humor. A must read!

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was like reading the diary of a high schooler. Nice, but kind of boring.

[Tom Sparrenberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspirational and tragic. Christopher Andersen writes a touching biography about the "Man of Steel" and a life cut short.