During my last trip to the library, I picked a book titled "100 Days of Happiness" by Italian author Fausto Brizzi.

The book had two things that drew me to it: I love anything Italian and I especially enjoy reading about happiness instead of depressing books.Ha! The book was far from happy. I cried at times while reading it and I was downright sobbing at the end. I sobbed so much my body shook.Yet, here I am recommending the book to others. It's a profound book that has an important message for all of us. It's easy to see why it's been published in 20 countries.The book tells of Lucio Battistini, who narrates his story. Up front, he mentions that he died shortly after his 40th birthday after battling liver cancer.Ever the Pollyanna, I fully expected the book to be about how he beat the dastardly disease. Right up until the end, I thought some miracle would happen and he would live.Well, the book was about how he lived - how he lived for 100 days after he was told nothing could help him.The intimate details of those 100 days are what makes the book worthwhile.But before you can read about them, Lucio challenges readers with a question: If you were told you had 100 days to live, what would you do? How would you live out those days?To make sure readers answered the question, there are several blank pages on which to write your answer. Talk about thought provoking.I did a serious job of answering the question by first listing the things I would NOT do.I would no longer spend time cleaning my house. I would either let the dust accumulate or hire someone else to do it and spend my time more productively.I would not spend one minute of my time with negative people who drain my energy. I would not listen to someone rail about a grudge they have with others or listen to someone complain about life.I would no longer attend meetings, serve on committees or do any busy work.Most of all, the first thing I would do is to get rid of television sets. I would donate the TVs to the St. Vincent de Paul Society to help the needy.By ridding my house of television, I would no longer waste even one precious hour mindlessly watching inane shows. I do too much of that.There are a lot more things I wouldn't do. But the important question is what would I do with my time if I only had 100 days to live?Perhaps my answer is the same as many other people. I would want to spend that time with those I love. I would want to talk with them about "what makes me tick" so when I am gone they would better know the person I was.It's my belief that when kids are small they are self-centered, absorbed only in their own life. They see the world through eyes too young to truly grasp their parents.When they become adults they move away and our times together are limited. How do they truly know the man and the woman who gave them life? How do they understand our goals, our fears, the important things that shaped who we are and the hopes we have for them?My daughters admit they loved their father passionately but they didn't really know him. They didn't know his core beliefs or his important feelings about his life because he kept his thoughts to himself.That's not going to happen with me. I make it a point to tell my daughters just about everything about what I am feeling, what I am doing and most of all, what I cherish.I tell them about my strong belief system even though I don't do a good enough job sharing my faith when they were growing up. It's been one of my biggest failings in life.The book makes you think about how you are spending your time.Most of us go through life pretending death is something that's a long way off - something we don't have to think about. Some of us block from our minds the thought that we don't have forever.When Lucio accepted the fact that he only had 100 days to live, he changed his life. He rediscovered the joy of being with his wife and children and lamented that he didn't do it soon enough. He says his last 100 days were the happiest of his entire life.That brings up this question: If we would live differently if we knew our days were numbered, why don't we do it now?My precious friend Debbie is dying. I tell her the best thing she can do for herself is not to spend the time she has left dying. Instead, spend those days truly living.I urge her to squeeze every bit of joy out of those days. Perhaps she will after the shock, fear and agony of her diagnosis dims. Right now she says she "can't bear the thought."So, what would you do if you learned you had but 100 days left to live?Or, can you not bear the thought of thinking about it?Contact Pattie Mihalik at

newsgirl@comcast.net.