So think way back to when Lightning found Doc's journals and his note taped to them, this is what he's done with them.

It had taken him a long time to type out all of Doc's notebooks.

It didn't help that he always had to stop and take a break when he started to tear up at the emotional parts. It didn't matter how many times he read them, there were three main parts he always teared up at; those being the events surrounding Ruth's death, Doc's crash- leading up to his rejection from the sport, and lastly the death of Doc's wife Emily Piston.

It was plain to see Doc's emotions at those points, as his writing had changed from his normal neat and concise cursive to a messier scrawl that looked rushed. Ruth's death was the worst of the three, which made him want to cry harder when he realized why the writing had changed.

It was his refusal to get any tears on those notebooks that slowed him down. He was not going to run the risk of tear stains on the pages, making the ink run and bleed. Another reason it took him so long was because he had to sneak in the time to type it; he didn't want anyone to know what he was doing before it was finished.

He felt accomplished once it was typed up. He had bought himself a good printer with a supply of ink and paper, to print a copy for everyone he thought should get to read it first, before he even tried to send it to get published.

He had 15 people that he thought should get a copy. That was everyone living in Radiator Springs when he crashed through town, and the three Piston kids, including one for The King.

Once he had the copies printed out, including those he'd be sending to different publishers, he was ready to share.

He offered an invitation to the Piston siblings and their families to stop by Radiator Springs again, without giving them a reason why.

Bernard declined and even upon telling him why the invitation had been offered, he still declined. He had accepted the offer of a copy of the soon to be book, so he mailed it out to the middle Piston sibling. Stephen and Lynda had accepted the offer to visit though, and once they were in town he gathered everyone he wanted to give a copy to into Flo's.

He made it so he was the last one of the group to enter the Cafe, carrying his box of copies. Without saying anything to anyone, he handed out each one, getting bemused looks, if not questioning him right out about what he was doing. He didn't answer until everyone had a copy.

"That-" he told them, pointing to one someone was holding theirs up higher, "is a labour of love, and tears. What you are holding is Doc's life story. He wrote it out before he passed, and I typed it up."

He went on to explain how he had come across the journals with Doc's note, after having found the tapes of his first week in Radiator Springs. He told them of how only a few pages in he knew he wanted to get it published, but thought they should all get the chance to read it first because there could be some parts that might be embarrassing to some.

Before any of them had even more than quickly glanced through it, he was gaining their blessings to go through with it. Now that he had the approval from those who were some of the closest people to Doc, he could go through with getting it published.

He had it sent to a couple of different publishers who jumped at the chance to publish The Fabulous Hudson Hornet's story. Especially since Doc was always seen as such an enigma to the public.

Once he accepted a deal from the one publisher, they asked for a few extra things before they would publish it as a book.

They wanted his ideas on what the cover should look like, if there was something he wanted to do for a dedication, and perhaps in someway more importantly they asked him to write a foreword for the book.

It was a request he couldn't turn down.

Before he got a chance to even think about writing the foreword though, they sat him down with a design team to work on the cover. He knew it shouldn't be too flashy. While Doc may have been flashy in his youth, the Doc he knew didn't care so much about flash.

He knew it had to have the Hornet on the cover though. It was an absolute must. He described his thoughts about the cover and it turned out better than he could have imagined.

They had done up a few samples, but one stuck out to him the most. It was a mainly black background with the front of the Hornet, unadorned of its racing regalia with Doc's name on the licence plate. With simple yellow lettering across the top stating the title. His own name under the Hornet's bumper by the driver's side tire.

It was perfect.

It felt like an incredibly fitting look for Doc's life story.

He wasn't sure what to do about the dedication though. In someways he thought it should be dedicated to him, but felt like that would come across self-indulgent because he was the one putting this all together.

So he went to Sally to get her opinion of it.

"Hey Sal? Do you think it would be weird to have a dedication to me, if I'm the one writing the foreword for it?"

"Not really Stickers, he wrote it for you. There wouldn't have been a book like it if it weren't for you. Plus, your dedication is already written. All you have to do is photocopy or take a picture of your note from Doc and have them use that. Then it's even in Doc's writing, and if people do voice concern about it, people can't as easily dispute it."

It was a wonderful solution to his dilemma. The best part was that the publishers loved it.

A picture of Doc's note would be the dedication.

That just left him with the foreword to write. He had a few false starts and a couple times he got halfway through before abandoning it, not liking where it was going. Eventually though, he made it to the point where he was happy with it.

oOo

This is the autobiography of Jesse Hudson. Sometimes known as; The Fabulous Hudson Hornet, Hud, Hollywood, Dr. Aaron Hudson, Dr. Jesse A. Hudson, the Honourable Doc Hudson (as I first met him), or simply Doc.

This book was written by him, giving his perspective on his life, to clear up speculations and rumours that have always floated around him since his crash.

I honestly think the only reason we have this book, is because of a conversation Doc and I had about the literature that was out there on him.

I was basically complaining that every book always ended with him disappearing. While he brought up the fact that from everyone else's perspective that's exactly what happened.

His own beefs were more along the lines that his siblings didn't get the credit they were due, making it seem like he had left Thomasville directly after his crash, and that he always thought that they put way too much focus on the crash itself. With all the focus that they put on his crash, Doc felt that they were defining his career by that. Not his three Piston Cups or his title of most wins in a single season.

After listing his reasons and saying something about if they weren't there, they didn't really know what happened. I then asked why he didn't just write one himself. He didn't like the idea. He was a very private person and didn't like the thought of his whole life being laid out.

I had what I considered a trump card to play yet.

If he wrote out his story, he could clear up all those misconceptions about him, put the focus where he thought it should be and give his siblings the credit he thought they were due.

(Which now he has done.)

Our conversation had ended after that. We never spoke of it again. I had never thought that anything would actually come from that conversation at the time.

I hadn't even known that he had written out his life story until after Doc had passed. Even then I only found his journals months afterwards.

I'm glad that he did though.

Through his journals which make up this book, I've come to know him so much better and understand more about how he became the grumpy and bitter older man I first met.

He did have every reason to be grumpy with me when we first met though. I had wrecked his town's road and I came from a world he had been deeply embroiled in but wanted nothing to do with anymore. Which meant he wanted nothing to do with me, but that didn't really work out for him. (Since he became my crew chief and all.)

After more than 50 years, I stumbled upon his secret and made him confront his past.

So, my getting lost rookie year not only straightened my priorities but solved the mystery of what happened to The Fabulous Hudson Hornet.

Doc was more to me than just my crew chief, he became my father figure, and hopefully it's not out of line to say that I became like a son to him.

I was hesitant about what to put for a dedication in this book, but after a talk with Sally (my girlfriend) she brought it to my attention that Doc had already taken care of that too.

Taped to his first journal was a note to me, and that note is what has become the dedication. It's a bit personal, but there is nothing that would fit better, because it's straight from Doc and even in his handwriting.

Doc doesn't dive much into his childhood years, instead starting shortly before his first ever race and win, before he even became The Fabulous Hudson Hornet.

There were definitely times where I cried when typing up Doc's journals. That is one thing I regret you won't be able to see, is the emotions that are shown through his writing.

There's probably a lot more I could say about Doc and this experience. Though if I continued to do so, it'd end up being a book of it's own.

My parting words before you begin are these.

Doc was my mentor, I will always miss him, but reading this, always makes me feel closer to him. Even though he had left the racing world behind he always had close ties to it, as you will soon know.

Rest in peace Doc, your story is being told the way you want it to be. I only hope you are with your family again.

Lightning McQueen