DETROIT – Best-selling author Jeffrey Zaslow was killed Friday when he lost control of his car on a snowy road. He was 53.

Zaslow, co-author of the million-selling book “The Last Lecture,” was also a former columnist for the Wall Street Journal and former advice columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. Zaslow, who had an affinity for stories of heroism and resilience, worked on memoirs of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and airline pilot Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger.

“Jeff was a beautiful writer, wonderful collaborator, loving husband, father and friend,” said Sullenberger, who was praised for his skill after safely ditching a plane in the Hudson River in 2009. “Our whole family loved him dearly, and he will be sorely missed.”

Zaslow was killed about 160 miles northwest of Lansing, according to the Antrim County sheriff’s office. Zaslow’s car slid into the path of a tractor-trailer truck. He was killed on impact.

The sheriff’s department did not release the name of the victim, but literary agent and friend Gary Morris confirmed Zaslow’s death. Morris said he was told of Zaslow’s death Friday evening by the author’s wife.

“The Last Lecture” was published in 2008 and has been translated into 40 languages.

It was inspired by Carnegie Mellon University professor Randy Pausch’s “last lecture” of his life’s lessons. Pausch died in 2008 of pancreatic cancer.