Eric Dane's final words of advice to his teenage daughters were to 'fight and hold your head up high'... as funeral details are revealed

Eric Dane's final words to his teenage daughters were revealed in addition to the details he did not want overlooked for his funeral.

Dane died at age 53 earlier this year but a memoir he wrote during his health battle has just been released – laying bare his battle with addiction, his relationship with wife Rebecca Gayheart, the first signs of his illness, and his misdiagnosis before getting his 'death sentence' diagnosis. 

My Book Of Days: A Memoir of Moments was released on Tuesday as in it he described in vivid detail the process leading up to his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis.

The rare, incurable degenerative condition impairs the nervous system over time and causes the muscles to increasingly suffer from paralysis. 

Dane was married to aforementioned actress Gayheart, 55, as they share daughters Billie, 16, and Georgia, 14.

At the end of his memoir, Dane addressed his two daughters directly as he reflected on how he has evolved through fatherhood and even expressed his sadness that he will not be able to walk either of them down the aisle.

Eric Dane's final words to his teenage daughters were revealed in addition to the details he did not want overlooked for his funeral (Above seen with Billie, now 16, and Georgia, now 14, in Los Angeles in May 2024)

Dane died at age 53 earlier this year but a memoir - titled My Book Of Days: A Memoir of Moments -  he wrote during his health battle has just been released

He then went on to share his final words of advice for his two girls as he urged them to fight until their last breath.

Dane wrote: 'This disease is slowly taking my body, but it will never take my spirit. The two of you are different people, but you’re both strong and resilient.

'You inherited resiliency from me. That’s my superpower.'

Dane went on to tell them to keep the fighting spirit even when something hits them unexpectedly.

He continued: 'Face it with honesty, integrity, and grace, even if it seems insurmountable. 

'I hope I’ve demonstrated that you can face anything—you can face the end of your days, you can face hell— with dignity. Fight, girls—and hold your heads high.' 

Elsewhere in the memoir, he opened up about his vision for his funeral from the food to the music and even the speeches.

Dane said that he wanted his funeral to be held at a large venue like the iconic Hollywood Palladium, which has a capacity of 4,000 people.

Dane was married to aforementioned actress Rebecca Gayheart, 55, as they share the two girls (Above, the family in New York in March 2013)

In the memoir, Dane shared his final words of advice for his two girls as he urged them to fight until their last breath (Above, Dane and Gayheart with their two children in Los Angeles in June 2017)

He also said that music is really important as he wants it to cover the full range of his music taste including 80s alternative, new romantics, new wave and nine ties alternative.

Some of the bands he wanted played included The Smiths, The Cure, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Oasis, The Police and The Talking Heads.

However, he did draw the line somewhere as he wrote: 'I want the place to rock, but please, no nineties rock. No KISS, no Mötley Crüe.'

As for the food, he wanted tables of delicious food including sushi and the best desserts in Los Angeles.

He also added that if Gayheart wanted to oversee a highlight video, he wouldn't be opposed to it as long as it was lighthearted as he didn't want his teenage daughters to be overwhelmed.

Lastly, he detailed his vision for the speeches at his funeral as he wanted to keep the list of speakers short with a max of five people at a tight five minutes max.

He then went on to suggest doing a 'Ho’oponopono prayer' which he learned from a season one episode of The Pitt as it consists of four simple phrases to say to your loved one.

Dane wrote: 'I wonder if you might also consider doing "Ho’oponopono" for me. It’s a Hawaiian tradition, a prayer for the dying called "Ho’oponopono," which means "to make right."'

Elsewhere in the memoir, he opened up about his vision for his funeral from the food to the music and event the speeches (Above, Dane in New York in February 2008)

Dane was married to actress Gayheart (Above in Los Angeles in June 2017) as they split in 2017 but remained friendly co-parents and never officially finalized the divorce

Dane, who shot to fame on Grey's Anatomy as Dr Mark Sloan aka 'McSteamy,' died February 19 aged 53 of ALS about a year after he announced that he had been diagnosed with the illness. 

Although Dane split from Gayheart in 2017, they remained friendly co-parents and never finalized the divorce, which they called off just before he revealed he had ALS, colloquially known in America as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Gayheart, 55, remained a stalwart source of support for him amid his final decline, even as both of them continued to date other people. 

Dane and Gayheart tied the knot in 2004, two years before he landed his fan favorite role as the womanizing 'McSteamy' on Grey's Anatomy. 

They stayed together through the scandal that erupted five years into their marriage when a home video leaked of them frolicking naked with an ex-beauty queen.

Gayheart stood by Dane through various personal problems, including his rehab stay in 2011 to wean himself off the pain medication he had begun taking for an injury. 

Six years later in 2017, Dane entered treatment for depression, resulting in a filming pause on his action drama series The Last Ship.

The next year, Gayheart filed for divorce on grounds of irreconcilable differences, and the pair agreed on joint custody of their daughters with Dane paying alimony.

Dane shot to fame on Grey's Anatomy as Dr Mark Sloan aka 'McSteamy'

Gayheart, who acted infrequently after having children, remarked a few months after her divorce filing that she wanted to start working again.

'I think that as a female you need to be able to always take care of yourself and never depend on a man,' she told Us Weekly. 'I’m going back to work and I think it’s partly because I want my daughters to see me work.'

She explained that she and Eric were 'doing our best' to co-parent their children, acknowledging: 'It isn’t easy. But we are trying and we are committed.'

The couple never finalized the divorce, which they threw out altogether in the weeks before Dane announced he was suffering from ALS. 

Dane's memoir My Book Of Days: A Memoir of Moments is out now.