⬆️ Neil Diamond brings the audience to its feet in a singalong as he gives an impromptu performance of his gold-record single ‘Sweet Caroline’ from his box seat in New York’s Broadhurst Theatre on the opening night of the Broadway show about his life.
“This is the hand that God has given me, and I have to make the best of it, and so I am.”
The 82-year-old singer said it is only in the last few months that he has come to terms with his five-year battle with Parkinson’s disease.
When he was diagnosed in 2018, he said he was in denial and couldn’t accept his condition, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects the brain and the parts of the body controlled by nerves.
“But this is what I have to accept,” he said during an interview that will be broadcast on April 2 on CBS Sunday Morning. “This is the hand that God has given me, and I have to make the best of it, and so I am. I am.”
He said that it’s just been in the last few weeks that he’s finally started to accept his fate, and that acceptance has given him peace of mind.
“A calm has moved into the hurricane of my life, and things have gotten very quiet. And I like it. The beat goes on, and it will go on long after I’m gone.”
