Gary Sinise stepped away from a demanding work schedule in November 2017 to embark on an eight-day road trip with his 26-year-old son, McCanna “Mac” Sinise, a decision the actor now views as vital before tragedy struck their family, today.com reported.
The 71-year-old actor shared that reflection while promoting a new book detailing his family’s experience during an appearance on TODAY on Nov. 10, which would have marked Mac’s 36th birthday.
Before that father-son journey, Mac was experiencing considerable anguish and had moved back home to regroup, according to today.com. When they discussed taking a trip—something they had not done together since Mac was a child—Sinise realized he had to clear his calendar despite being exceptionally busy.
“If I would’ve put that off — because I was very, very busy and I had to find the time — if I would’ve put that off, we wouldn’t have gotten to it,” Sinise told TODAY hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Willie Geist. “And so I’m so grateful that we took that time, father and son, to go on this road trip. It was very, very meaningful.”
During that excursion, the pair traveled together to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, New Orleans, and Savannah, Georgia. Sinise later posted photographs from the journey on his Facebook page, describing it as one of the most meaningful experiences he shared with his son in his final years.
Reflecting on that journey, Sinise offered specific advice to other parents. “I encourage all fathers — you do a lot with your kids when they’re at home, but take advantage of the times that you can when they’re adults and spend that time with them,” he said on TODAY, adding that it remained a choice he would always appreciate.
The family’s circumstances shifted dramatically the following year. Mac began experiencing intense pain in his tailbone while touring overseas as a musician, today.com reported. A CT scan conducted in 2018 revealed a large tumor, leading to a diagnosis of chordoma, a rare and slow-growing bone cancer that most often forms at the top or bottom of the spine, according to Mayo Clinic.
Mac, who had studied composition at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music after playing drums in high school, faced the diagnosis with remarkable composure. “He was just kind of an inspirational guy,” Sinise told TODAY. “Very humble guy.”
“Through it all, Mac was just incredible in the way he was dealing with it,” Sinise added. “Very strong faith. He persevered through this with such courage.”
Sinise and his wife, Moira Harris, kept their son’s cancer battle private while he lived. Mac passed away at age 33 on Jan. 5, 2024. Following his death, Sinise published an obituary for his son through his nonprofit organization’s website, triggering an overwhelming wave of responses from grieving parents.
Those messages inspired Sinise to write the memoir titled Graceful Warrior: The True Story of a Son, a Father, and a Family Who Carried Each Other Through, which launched on Nov. 10. “I got responses from fathers and mothers who had gone through something similar and contained a lot of their pain and their grief, and hadn’t really talked about it,” Sinise told TODAY.
“By sharing the story of Mac, they felt like they wanted to do that also,” he said. “I thought, ‘OK, maybe that story is helping some folks, let me go deeper here.’”
