Eric Dane revealed 'weird' first sign of ALS came during family dinner: 'Suddenly I can't work my right hand'

Nearly a year before he was diagnosed with ALS, Eric Dane was enjoying a sushi dinner with his daughters when he found himself struggling to use the chopsticks. 

Little did he know at the time, the strange sensation marked the beginning of his battle with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).  

Dane died at age 53 of ALS earlier this year but an upcoming memoir he wrote during his health battle will now be released - laying bare his battle with addiction, his relationship with Rebecca Gayheart, and the first signs of his illness. 

My Book Of Days: A Memoir of Moments will be released on November 3, 2026 and describes how a dinner with his children first sparked concern, according to an excerpt obtained by People. 

Dane was eating sushi and found himself struggling to 'work' the chopsticks with his right hand - a symptom he chalked up at the time to excessive texting.  

'I'm eating sushi with my kids and suddenly I can't work the chopsticks with my right hand. My hand tingles, and then my fingers feel numb,' he said.

At first, Dane suspected it was 'some kind of weird nerve thing' that he thought could have been the result of 'texting too much.' 

He attempted to 'shake it off', but the frightening symptom returned less than a month later and greater in severity.  

'Three weeks later, it happens again, only worse. I can't grip the chopsticks at all,' he wrote.

Dane said the second occurrence sparked a nine-month journey 'searching for answers' before he was ultimately diagnosed. 

In just a few days, the world will be able to learn more about Dane's life first-hand when My Book Of Days is released.

Dane was initially apprehensive about writing the memoir and delving into his addiction struggles, Gayheart told People.  

Yet she is 'grateful he did, because it gives my girls the opportunity to know their dad as a human being.' 

The couple married in October 2004, separated in September 2017, and shockingly called off their divorce in March 2025 – one month before Dane publicly announced his ALS diagnosis.

They shared daughters Georgia, 14, and Billie, 16. 

Gayheart told Dane 'I'm not going anywhere' when she first learned about his devastating diagnosis, the memoir reveals. 

He detailed calling Gayheart after his revelatory doctor appointment and telling her, 'It's what we feared,' according to an excerpt shared by People.

The Grey's Anatomy star wrote: 'I don't remember a single word I said after that,' and added that Gayheart was 'wailing on the other end of the phone.'

'My sobs make my body shudder, and I hear her words pouring out amid her tears, 'I'm here, we'll fight this together, I'm not going anywhere,'' the author shared.

Dane said he turned his focus to being strong for the girls, declaring: 'I'm going to take this on. I'm going to fight. I'm going to show my girls how to walk through this life with grace and dignity, no matter what. I am going to FIGHT.

'This has become my purpose. My reason. This is now my job.'

Elsewhere in the forthcoming literary effort, the late actor discussed the demise of his marriage to Gayheart – which he said was due in part to his substance abuse struggles.

'My work hours, my addiction complications, the times I'm away, the times I'm here but not here,' he listed as reasons for the fallout.

He said they 'all weigh on Rebecca, smother her, disappoint her, infuriate her. I get it, I see it, I don't fight it.'

However, he noted that, 'We've since stayed close, co-parenting, going on vacations as a family, spending time together and now we talk every day.'

Gayheart wrote in a December 2025 essay published by The Cut that her love for Dane was no longer romantic, but 'familial.' 

'We had a really lovely marriage for a long time – we were married for 15 years – we created two beautiful girls,' she wrote. 

'But also, lots of s**t went crazy in our relationship, and it wasn't good. We separated, but we never got a divorce; we were about to and then we didn't. We haven't lived in the same home for eight years; he's dated other people, I've dated someone.'

'It's a very complicated relationship, one that's confusing for people,' she acknowledged.

'Our love may not be romantic, but it's familial love. Eric knows that I am always going to want the best for him. That I'm going to do my best to do right by him. And I know he would do the same for me.'