The Heart of It's a Wonderful Life: How the Most Inspirational Movie of All Time Still Inspires the Spirit

“You really had a wonderful life. Don’t you see what a mistake it would be to throw it away?” —CLARENCE

In this special book, Jimmy Hawkins helps us focus on the true meaning behind the classic holiday movie. It’s not just the message or its many famous lines but rather the motivation behind the creation of the film and director Frank Capra’s unrelenting vision for what it should be.

As a boy, Jimmy played George Bailey’s youngest son, Tommy. And he has spent the eight decades since living out the heart of the story and becoming arguably the world’s foremost expert on the movie. Filled with unpublished facts that the author has collected about the cast and crew, this book gives a clearer understanding of what they all brought to the scripted pages.

Through excerpts from the screenplay, never-before-seen photos, and a lifetime of friendship with both Frank Capra and the stars of the movie, Hawkins guides us to discover why this story still touches the spirit decades after its release. Because It’s a Wonderful Life is not just George Bailey’s or Frank Capra’s story—it’s the story of all of us, and of many generations to come.

Photographs can be found in the audiobook companion PDF download.

© 2025 Harper Horizon (Audiobook): 9781400255153

Release date

Audiobook: 23 September 2025