Larry's life: Behind the autobiography of Larry H. Miller

This is the first of an eight-part series on the recently released book "Driven: An Autobiography" about the life of Larry H. Miller written by Deseret News columnist Doug Robinson in collaboration with Miller. Beginning Monday, the Deseret News will run excerpts from the book, along with some of Robinson's personal observations and experiences from the project. "Driven" is available at Deseret Book.

SALT LAKE CITY — The reality of Larry H. Miller's death really didn't hit me until the day I e-mailed the manuscript of his life's story to the publisher last November.

I went for a walk, kicking at stacks of fall leaves on the ground as I went, feeling relief and satisfaction at finally completing the project. ... Forgetting momentarily, I felt an urge to call Larry immediately to share the moment, and then I remembered, of course. He was gone. Really gone. What we started together, we didn't finish together.

So much had transpired since we had sat in his dining room overlooking the Salt Lake Valley — days and weeks and months of interviews in hospital rooms, at his bedside, at the dinner table, in his office. We talked through blood transfusions and walking exercises in the hallway and over his wife's homemade lunches. With all the starts and stops caused by Miller's health troubles, culminating in his death, it had taken 18 months to finish the book.

Six times he almost died during the six months we worked on the book; five times he was resuscitated. Larry came back from each setback wanting to work on the book until finally he couldn't come back. He wanted the book to be finished anyway. That was the last thing he told me on his deathbed.

Along with the Joseph Smith Papers and the planning of the establishment of the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation, he viewed the book as one of his most important projects during the last months of his life. He considered it a legacy for business associates, friends and especially family. (Even before the book was officially released, Larry's son Steve told me that he and his wife were reading the manuscript to their children each night, which surely would have pleased Larry.)

Little did we know that we were in a race against time when we began the project, or we would have begun it much sooner. It wasn't until that last month of Larry's life that either of us really realized he wasn't going to regain his health.