Jeffrey Zaslow, author of bestselling 'The Last Lecture,' killed in car crash

Jeffrey Zaslow, co-author of the huge-selling book, "The Last Lecture," was killed on Friday when he lost control of his car on a snowy road after promoting his latest book in northern Michigan.

Jeffrey Zaslow was 53. He had been in northern Michigan speaking about "The Magic Room: A Story About the Love We Wish for Our Daughters," a non-fiction book based on a Michigan bridal shop, which was published in December of 2011.

The image above, in fact, shows Jeffrey Zaslow at a book signing event in Ann Arbor, Michigan on February 7, 2012, which was three days prior to his death.

Zaslow was killed in an accident that occurred on Friday morning in Warner Township, which is approximately 160 miles northwest of Lansing, Michigan. According to the Antrim County sheriff's office, Zaslow's car slid into the path of a semitrailer, and he was killed on impact.

In addition to being an author, Zaslow was a Wall Street Journal columnist and former advice columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. Along with Randy Pausch, he wrote "The Last Lecture," published in 2008 and a No. 1 New York Times bestseller which has now been translated into forty-one languages. Pausch died of pancreatic cancer in 2008, and the book was about his "last lecture," one he gave called "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," based on his life's lessons.

Zaslow was twice named best columnist by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and in 2000 he received its Will Rogers Humanitarian Award.

Zaslow also worked on the memoirs of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and airline pilot and "hero of the Hudson" Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger. Sullenberger himself said in a written statement issued on Friday, "Jeff was a beautiful writer, wonderful collaborator, loving husband, father and friend. Our whole family loved him dearly and he will be sorely missed."

Literary agent and friend Gary Morris said, "His great talent was to find stories that had heart that people could relate to. He was the most industrious and hardest working author I know. He never turned anything in late. He turned in the cleanest copy. It really was ethics. He was completely selfless in the writing of his own books and collaborations with others."

In a statement Friday to the staff of the Wall Street Journal, editor Robert Thomson said: "Jeff's writing, for the Journal and in his books, has been a source of inspiration for many people around the world and his journalistic life has been a source of inspiration for all journalists."

Zaslow is survived by his wife, Sherry, and daughters Jordan, Alex, and Eden.

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

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