‘Sex and the City’ star Evan Handler releases 2nd book

Evan Handler was given six months to live when he was only 23 years old. Battling an “incurable” disease named acute myeloid leukemia, doctors said Handler was unlikely to recover. However, against all odds, he survived the usually fatal illness. Today, while trying to relive the youth he lost during his mid-20s, he has written about his second chance at life.\nPopularly known for his role as Harry Goldenblatt on HBO’s “Sex and the City” and Charlie Rumkle on Showtime’s “Californication,” Handler has written his second book, “It’s Only Temporary: The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive.” The book describes his life through a collection of off-beat stories.\nFrom dating failures to relationship triumphs, through career ups and downs to ultimately finding his true love, the book pieces together his comedic yet insightful experiences during a period of 20 years. Stories discuss his determination to run faster around New York’s Central Park reservoir, his experiences working on “Sex and the City” and the birth of his daughter. In the book, Handler said he is lucky to be alive, yet he still struggles to find constant pleasure in life.\n“It is an ironic struggle between gratitude and yearning that I’ve had,” he said in the book interview. \nHandler published his first book in 1996, titled “Time On Fire: My Comedy of Terrors,” which depicts a funny yet angry account of his life defeating cancer. He said his books reflect a way of making Hallmark stories in the most “un-Hallmark way” possible.\nHandler describes his own life as “backwards,” considering he has spent his 30s and 40s catching up on life experiences that were wiped out by his illness during his 20s. His 20-year-old perspective makes his book relatable to college students.\n“I think it speaks of coming to terms with the fact that life is a limited duration,” Handler said.\nHandler’s career will continue with his second season of “Californication”; the new “Sex & the City” movie, which comes out May 30; and “It’s Only Temporary: The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive,” which hits bookstores May 1.\nWhen asked if he prefers his talent of acting or writing better, he said, “I like the act of one and the pay of another – now if you could combine the two ... ”