What would you do if you were told you only had 10 minutes to live? Think about it, and let us know!
For actor and comedian, Jim Carrey , this question became a reality.
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In his new book, Memoirs and Misinformation, the actor detailed what he thought were his last moments on earth.
What he said will seriously surprise you.
Earlier this week, Jim Carrey’s new book, *Memoirs and Misinformation* was released.
Co-written with Dana Vachon, the comedian’s semi-autobiographical novel is described as “a deconstruction of persona.”
We can automatically assume that this will be something amazing to read.
In it, they share topics close to the actor’s heart, such as acting, Hollywood, and friendship.
The actor recently explained one of the main goals of the book in an interview with CBC’s q host , Tom Power.
One of these goals was to “to go through this absurd journey of definition, and the madness of Hollywood and the burning down of old structures to get to at least a taste of that infinite nothingness and everythingness,” he said.
He added that the Hollywood glitterati are “a bunch of entities and people struggling to make some sort of relevance for themselves.”
Carrey and Vachon talked about why they decided to write the book as semi-fiction rather than writing a memoir.
“I thought of the fiction as being a construction, but constructed in service of illuminating these beautiful visions of a true past, much of which was in Canada,” Vachon said.
He continued:
“That the line had already been blurred. And then we got together and we realized not only had it been blurred, but it had been befouled because most celebrity memoirs are messing with the truth anyway, either through omission or distortion.”
One of the real stories in the book happened to be the scariest.
This was the time Jim was told he only had 10 minutes to live.
This took place in January 2018 when the actor was in Hawaii and was having a normal day up until that moment.
He had been on a call about his semi-autobiographical novel when he got a FaceTime from his assistant, Linda.
“She said, ‘There are missiles coming, and they’re going to land in 10 minutes. This is real.’ And as she was strenuously clutching her iPhone, she accidentally took a screenshot of my face.”
This picture is actually now the cover of *Memoirs and Misinformation*.
“So the book’s cover is an actual shot of my face after being told that I have 10 minutes to live,” he said, adding that you’ll notice is facial expression isn’t one of panic.
“It was more a wave of calm coming over me and a sense of ‘Oh, that’s strange. Huh, what a funny way for this all to end.’ And that’s the feeling I got,” he said.
Once the alert sent the people of Hawaii scrambling in a panic, Carrey tried to figure out what to do.
He recalled asking himself, do I hide under the stairs? Get in the car?
“I tried to get off the island on the phone to my daughter and I couldn’t get through,” a visibly emotional Carrey explained.
“And finally I just said, ‘You know what? I’ve had a wonderful life.’ And I decided to sit there and watch the ocean and go through all the ways in my head that I could be grateful for what I had.”
“And I started this list of gratitudes that could have gone on forever,” he continued.
When there were just two minutes left before the missile hit, Carrey got a call from his co-author, letting him know it was a false alarm.
When reflecting on the experience and whether it had changed him Jim said that, “It’s a part of me. It’s a part of this book.”
“When all is lost, then all is found.”
This is exactly why they decided on making Memoirs and Misinformation a twist of biographical moments with fiction.
“‘Real’ is an illusion. I really think it’s as simple as that,” the actor said.
He went on to say that there is no distinction between Jim Carrey the actor and the “real” Jim Carrey.
“There is no difference. They’re both ideas and abstract constructions.”
During the interview, Carrey took the time to praise his mentor, the late Rodney Dangerfield.
“He was an incredible human being and a tremendous support. If he loved you, man, you were under the wing and he was telling you what you needed to know, that you needed to make the tank so strong that no bonehead could stop it.”
“And he supported me when I was experimenting and would stand backstage laughing and going, ‘Those people are looking at you like you’re from another friggin’ planet, man.'”
He continued: “But he supported me, and kept hiring me. He was just lovely to me.”
