Living Life in Fast Forward is more than a memoir. Author James J. Hammond shares the raw truth about what it's like to pursue your vision when you've been given an expiration date.
• By looking at your life from a fast-forward perspective you can:
Reset your priorities to pull forward the most important things
• Find your purpose to greatly impact your quality of life
• Learn to care for yourself so you can be at your best
• Understand how empathy for others is different than sympathy for them
• Express genuine appreciation for your most important relationships
The lessons James learned from a life that was sped up are powerful for everyone, but especially for those facing a terminal prognosis, as well as their families and their physicians.
Epilogue – Amanda Hammond Gray
Amanda Hammond Gray shares a deeply personal farewell to her husband, James, who passed away at 28 from a rare pediatric sarcoma. She recalls his courage, wisdom, and love, preserving him in memory as forever young.
Pregnant with their son at the time, Amanda reflects on the bittersweet joy of their child knowing his father through this book. She honors James’ remarkable life—from his academic and professional achievements to his charitable work—and the legacy he leaves through the James J. Hammond Fund, dedicated to helping future patients facing similarly dire diagnoses.
30 Jul 2025
Chapter 9: Conclusion
Chapter Nine – Conclusion
In closing, James J. Hammond distills his “fast forward” life lessons: stay relentlessly present, never give up, and keep living with youth, energy, and curiosity.
He reflects on shifting focus from self to others, finding purpose in connection and impact, and embracing the privilege of saying goodbye with intention.
His journey is a call to live fully, fight bravely, and leave behind a legacy of love and resilience.
30 Jul 2025
Chapter 8: Accepting Support
Chapter Eight – Accepting Support
James J. Hammond shares how opening himself to both professional and personal support transformed his ability to cope with cancer.
He highlights the value of trusted mental health professionals, the strength built through long-term relationships, and the importance of choosing role models who inspire growth.
His message: invest in your support network before you need it, welcome help without shame, and surround yourself with people who bring out your best.
30 Jul 2025
Chapter 7: Finding Your Purpose
Chapter Seven – Finding Your Purpose
James J. Hammond reflects on how chasing others’ dreams left him unfulfilled until cancer forced him to define his own.
He explores the difference between professional and personal purpose, the intersection of joy, excellence, and impact, and the need for trial, error, and honest introspection.
With clarity on what truly matters—like fatherhood, writing, and inspiring others—he shows how living with purpose transforms both work and life.
30 Jul 2025
Chapter 6: Caring for Yourself
Chapter Six – Caring for Yourself
James J. Hammond emphasizes that caring for your mind and body is not selfish—it is essential to better support others. He shares lessons on breaking the “invincible” mindset, creating unbreakable personal rules, prioritizing exercise, nutrition, sleep, and meditation, and eliminating excuses. By building deliberate self-care habits, he shows how small, consistent actions create lasting improvements in resilience, clarity, and capacity to give.
30 Jul 2025
Chapter 5: Developing Empathy
Chapter Five – Developing Empathy
Through his cancer journey, James J. Hammond deepened his belief in empathy as one of life’s most powerful virtues—built on listening, compassion, and sharing in others’ experiences.
He explores how being present, forgiving, and resisting judgment can strengthen relationships, while recognizing the difference between unfairness and bad luck helps maintain resilience.
His message: empathy is not pity, but an active choice to understand, support, and celebrate others in both joy and suffering.
30 Jul 2025
Chapter 4: Choosing Your Attitude
Chapter Four – Choosing Your Attitude
James J. Hammond reflects on the one thing he could control through cancer: his mindset. By “winning one day at a time,” he shows how positivity, resilience, and confronting reality can shape outcomes, ease suffering, and inspire others.
He explores using attitude to face pain, avoid dwelling on uncertain futures, and build perseverance—reminding us that while we cannot choose our challenges, we can choose how we meet them.
30 Jul 2025
Chapter 3: Appreciating Life
Chapter Three – Appreciating Life
James J. Hammond highlights gratitude as a daily practice that grounds us, strengthens relationships, and shifts perspective—even in hardship.
He shares how expressing appreciation, embracing both joy and suffering, and rejecting complaint and self-pity can deepen our connection to life.
By focusing on what remains good and meaningful, he shows that gratitude can be a powerful tool for resilience and purpose.
30 Jul 2025
Chapter 2: Resetting Your Priorities
Chapter Two – Resetting Your Priorities
Facing a terminal diagnosis sharpened James J. Hammond’s belief that life is too precious for anything that does not bring purpose or joy.
He urges readers to prioritize deeply—choosing people, goals, and activities that matter most, balancing short- and long-term aspirations, and investing fully in relationships.
By cutting out unproductive distractions and focusing on what truly enriches life, he shows how deliberate prioritization leads to deeper happiness and meaning.
29 Jul 2025
Chapter 1: Fast Forward for Real
Chapter One – Fast Forward for Real
After a rare pediatric sarcoma diagnosis at 26, James J. Hammond fought through surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation—emerging cancer-free, only to face a devastating recurrence two years later.
With the disease now incurable, he confronts life in “fast forward,” balancing hope and acceptance while cherishing each moment.
His journey through treatment, setbacks, and clinical trials offers hard-earned lessons on resilience, gratitude, and living fully despite the clock running faster than expected.
29 Jul 2025
Preface
James J. Hammond’s *Living Life in Fast Forward* reflects on how a rare, aggressive cancer reshaped his priorities, gratitude, and outlook. Drawing from his journey, he offers eight focused lessons on living intentionally—covering attitude, empathy, self-care, and appreciation—so others can gain perspective without facing the same trauma.
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