Civil rights icon John Lewis' message to a new generation to be published in July

Some last thoughts from Rep. John Lewis will be published this summer.

Grand Central Publishing announced Tuesday that Lewis’ “Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation” will come out July 13, almost a year after he died at age 80. The book includes comments from the civil rights activist and longtime Democratic congressman from Georgia on “courage, faith, activism, humility, forgiveness, marriage, death, the pandemic and much more.”

“The book contains the late congressman’s final reflections after a lifetime on the front lines of the battle for America’s soul, focusing on the things that mattered most to him and sharing his hard-earned wisdom with the world one last time,” according to the publisher.

“Carry On” originates from conversations Lewis had with his editor at Grand Central, Gretchen Young, the last of which took place just three weeks before he died. They had known each other for more than a decade and agreed, after Lewis had been diagnosed with cancer, that they should record some observations for posterity.

“I consider it one of the great privileges of my professional life to have been able to work with this extraordinary man in memorializing his last words for posterity,” Young said in a statement.

Fellow civil rights activist Andrew Young (no relation to Gretchen Young) will contribute a foreword. The audio edition will be narrated by actor Don Cheadle.

Lewis’ other books included the memoir “Walking With the Wind” and the award-winning “March” trilogy of graphic novels based on his life.