Simon & Schuster announced today that it will publish YOUR SECOND ACT: INSPIRING STORIES OF REINVENTION by Patricia Heaton, on May 5, 2020, in hardcover, ebook, and audio editions. In her forthcoming book, Heaton, Emmy-winning actress and star of numerous hit sitcoms including Everybody Loves Raymond, The Middle, and CBS’s new comedy Carol’s Second Act (from which the book’s title is taken), shares wisdom from her own personal journey as well as insight from stories of numerous people across the country as they sought their true calling. From work to health, to love and more, the results are heartwarming, inspiring, and surprisingly relatable.
Heaton knows something about what it’s like to stage a second act. Just like her portrayal of Carol in Carol’s Second Act, when Heaton’s children left the nest she found herself with an empty house and some space in her calendar. Shortly after, she took a leap in her career and for the first time, Heaton is now both the star of her own show, and the executive producer. Beyond even that, what she really considers her second act is her humanitarian work as an ambassador for World Vision, where she where she travels around the globe to witness firsthand World Vision’s work in developing countries, and brings back these moving stories to raise awareness and funds to support World Vision’s commitment to providing clean water to all 100 countries they serve, along with health, education, maternal support and disaster relief programs.
Heaton writes, “I’m embarking on what I call my second act. I have lived a life beyond my wildest dreams and I’m so grateful. Life wasn’t handed to me on a silver platter by any stretch. I’ve worked hard, skinned my knees, cried my eyes out, regretted, doubted, and second-guessed myself along the way.”
“For me, handing everything over to God changed my life,” Heaton adds. “I’ve gone up and down many different paths; looking back, I see how the seed for my second act was clearly planted in my first act. I think you’ll find the same is true for you, too.”
“As I read, I felt as though Patricia had taken my hand,” says Emily Graff, editor at Simon & Schuster, who acquired world and audio rights from Ryan Bundra at Talent LINK. “She speaks with honesty, humor, and grace about her second act, and all of the second acts included here. She shows the full scope of possibilities awaiting us, from volunteer work to career changes to even another chance at love. If you are seeking something more from life, this book proves that you can have it, and Patricia shares practical tools to use for when you’re ready to start your second act. I know many will draw inspiration and support from this book.”
Filled with anecdotes and practical steps to help you discover your own path, YOUR SECOND ACT explores incredible stories of reinvention, showing us that midlife doesn’t have to be about crisis when you focus on the opportunity.
If you are in transition, if you feel dissatisfied, or have a stirring inside that there is more, this book is for you. Be encouraged and inspired to step out and follow what’s in your heart because it’s never too late, or too early to stage your second act!
Patricia Heaton is an Emmy-winning actress who has played two beloved TV moms on the long-running sitcoms Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle. Heaton’s celebrated career continues with her return to CBS in Carol’s Second Act. The sitcom follows divorced 50-year old Carol Kenney (played by Heaton), who upon retiring as a teacher decides to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. In 2001, Heaton cofounded FourBoys Films, a production company which she runs with her husband David Hunt. Heaton recently launched her homewares line “Patricia Heaton Home” with Walmart. Born out of her love for spending quality time with family and friends, this delightful and charming product line was a natural next step after her Emmy Award-winning Food Network series Patricia Heaton Parties and her first cookbook, Patricia Heaton’s Food for Family and Friends. A committed philanthropist, Heaton is the founding member of World Vision’s Celebrity Ambassador Network. She is the author of Your Second Act, and lives in Los Angeles with her husband.
