As Superman, Christopher Reeve fought for “truth, justice and the American way.” As a wheelchair-bound activist he was a symbol of hope for the disabled. Wife Dana, meanwhile, came to represent the faithful caregiver. They’d been married only three years when he was thrown from his horse during a 1995 equestrian competition. Paralyzed from the shoulders down, unable to breathe without a respirator, he told her, “Maybe we should let me go.” She replied, “I’ll be with you for the long haul. . . . You’re still you.” Christopher Andersen, dubbed a “celebritologist” by Entertainment Weekly, has written books of varying quality on subjects including Barbra Streisand, Madonna, JFK Jr., Bill and Hillary Clinton and Princess Diana. He sometimes goes for the jugular, but his latest, Somewhere in Heaven, goes for the heart, paying tribute to a couple who stuck it out for better and mostly for worse.
Based in part on original interviews, Andersen’s book chronicles the Reeves’ courtship, marriage and the challenges (sexual, medical, financial and more) they faced after Christopher’s accident. Dana, who never got to fully realize her potential as a singer-actress, emerges as an especially memorable leading lady. Tragically, less than a year after Christopher’s unexpected death, non-smoker Dana was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. Somewhere in Heaven is about love so deep it defies all obstacles. Have Kleenex handy.
