In the book, Graham writes that he looks forward to death because he’s eager to be reunited with his wife. In the meantime, he appreciates the “touches of Ruth” in each room of his house.

For much of his 92 years, Billy Graham has had one title: evangelist.

But in a new memoir, Graham reveals a lesser-known side of himself: a grieving and ailing widower who has difficulty getting up from a chair or putting on his shoes.

“I can’t truthfully say that I have liked growing older,” Graham writes in Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well, which hits bookstores Tuesday. “At times I wish I could still do everything I once did – but I can’t.”

To be sure, his book includes his signature focus on evangelism, asking non-Christian readers numerous times to come to Jesus before it is too late. But most of the book’s 192 pages are filled with messages on growing old or preparing younger readers for the reality of old age.

“All my life I was taught how to die as a Christian, but no one ever taught me how I ought to live in the years before I die,” he writes in the introduction. “I wish they had because I am an old man now and believe me, it’s not easy.”

So, a month before he turns 93, Graham has become a teacher of sorts in How to Grow Old 101.

Stay involved, he recommends. And spend wisely. As the great-grandfather of 43, he warns against going into debt buying expensive gifts for grandchildren.

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