Eight months after his death, Eric Dane is speaking to fans one last time. The Grey’s Anatomy star’s posthumous memoir, “My Book of Days: A Memoir in Moments,” reveals some of the most harrowing moments of his battle with ALS — including the day his teenage daughter saved him from drowning, according to Parade and Pulptastic.
Dane, who played Dr. Mark Sloan on Grey’s Anatomy and Cal Jacobs on Euphoria, publicly announced his ALS diagnosis in April 2025 and died on February 19, 2026, at age 53. The memoir, built as a series of “days” — including “future days” written for his daughters — will be released November 3.
The day Georgia saved him
In an excerpt published by People, Dane recalled a 2024 family vacation in Antigua, after his diagnosis. He jumped into the ocean and realized he could no longer swim. His younger daughter, Georgia, then 14, and a friend dragged him back to the boat.
“When I jumped into the ocean that day and realized I couldn’t swim and generate enough power to get myself back to the boat, I thought, ‘Oh God,'” Dane told Diane Sawyer in a June 2025 interview. “And I realized in that moment I’m not safe in the water anymore.”
Once safely aboard, his first call was to his estranged wife, Rebecca Gayheart. “I can’t swim, Rebecca,” he told her. “I can’t swim.” The memoir describes them crying together on the phone.
“Billie, I’m so sorry”
The book also recounts a heartbreaking moment days before his death, when ALS left him unable to hug his elder daughter, Billie, after her December 2025 production of The Nutcracker. “Billie, I’m so sorry. I can’t wrap my arms around you,” he wrote — before the pair created a new tradition, hugging themselves and crying together.
The memoir traces his first symptom to January 7, 2024, when he suddenly couldn’t work chopsticks with his right hand while eating sushi with his kids. After nine months of searching for answers, a UCSF neurologist diagnosed him with ALS. “Never give up,” he wrote in his advice to his daughters.
