John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Close Friend Elliot Mintz Details Their Life Together In New Book (Exclusive)

When John Lennon was assassinated on the doorstep of the the Dakota, Elliott Mintz was there to help Yoko Ono through it. He'd been by the couple's side for the good, bad and ugly for the last decade, and now, a new book is sharing that story with the world.

In We All Shine On: John, Yoko, and Me, due out this fall from Dutton, Mintz shares the story of his unlikely friendship with the pair, revealing the ups and downs of what the publisher calls a "wild, touching, heartbreaking and sometimes shocking relationship."

In 1972, Mintz installed a special hotline just for John and Yoko, talking to one or the other or both almost every day for a decade. "I believe over the next 10 years with John and Yoko, I spoke with them more than any other person," he says, in an author letter shared with PEOPLE.

"I really never gave much thought to writing a memoir of my life with the Lennons," the author continues. "I was annoyed and shocked by the dozens of books that appeared after John's murder, some written by former disgruntled employees and most by people who never knew or spoke with either. Maybe I worried that I would be perceived as one of them."

But after attending Yoko's 90s birthday party in 2023 and receiving encouragement from the couple's son, Sean Ono Lennon, he decided to share his memories with a world still — or in the case of younger fans, newly — fascinated with the band that changed music forever.

Mintz, a media consultant and former Los Angeles radio and television host, takes readers inside Lennon and Yoko’s most sacred spaces, including their seventh-floor apartment in New York’s fabled Dakota apartment building, where Mintz was "something of a semi-permanent fixture, ultimately becoming the Lennon’s closest and most trusted confidant."

The book features firsthand accounts of the couple's creative highs, relationship and private challenges, interactions with the other former Beatles and the birth of their son.

We All Shine On is described as "a relationship story that just about everyone can relate to, a tale about friendship, about the choices we make in life and how much we sacrifice of ourselves for the ones we love most," according to the book's description.

For Mintz, it's also a chance to share stories that he's kept to himself before it's too late to do so. "This is a book I had to write as a tribute to a friendship that has impacted my life in so many ways with two people who mean so much to the world," he explains. "And I’m proud to share it with you now."

We All Shine On is due out on Oct. 22 from Dutton, and is available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.