Review ~ Coming Back Stronger

Pub. Date: July 2010 (purchased shortly before the Book Ban)
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook, Hardcover

Rating: Synopsis:

When a potentially career-ending shoulder injury left quarterback Drew Brees without a team and faced with the daunting task of having to learn to throw a football all over again, coaches around the NFL wondered, would he ever come back? After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, leaving 85% of the city under water, many wondered, would the city ever come back? And with their stadium transformed into a makeshift refugee camp, forcing the Saints to play their entire 2005 season on the road, people questioned, would the Saints ever come back? It takes a special person to turn adversity into success and despair into hope—yet that is exactly what Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees has done—and with the weight of an entire city on his shoulders. Coming Back Stronger is the ultimate comeback story, not only of one of the NFL's top quarterbacks, but also of a city and a team that many had all but given up on. Brees' inspiring message of hope and encouragement proves that with enough faith, determination, and heart, you can overcome any obstacle life throws your way and not only come back, but come back stronger.

Review:

I just want to set the record straight...I'm not a New Orleans Saints fan. But after watching the past few years....Post Katrina. As the Saints and New Orleans "crawled" their way out of the wreckage and despair that a Category 5 hurricane created I would poke around and see how they did during their games. I watched the "homecoming" game against the Falcons and most recently the playoffs and the Super Bowl. That being said I saw this book while I was checking out the new releases a couple weeks ago on Barnes and Noble.com and the synopsis alone sold me on it.

This book is wonderfully written. Drew and his ghost writer eloquently put Drew's life (personal and professional) into perspective for the reader. Sometimes when you read and hear about these professional atheletes you forget that they too are just a person just like everyone else. You see them as "larger than life" and "unaproachable." The way this book is written it puts to rest those "images"....in Drew's case any way.

Drew covers his childhood and even covers his parent's bitter divorce. All the way through his time at the Chargers and his potentially career-threatening injury. Then there was "Miami vs New Orleans" and the deciding factor that made him chose post-Katrina New Orleans over the "obvious choice" Miami.

It's all here. There is not a person that has been a part of Drew's life (ok there may be a couple) that isn't talked highly about here in the book....from his parents, to his wife, teamates (past and present), doctors, coaches, etc. Then throw in bringing a city and a football team back from ruin and you have a pretty amazing comeback story. Life threw Drew some serious lemons along the way and he's made some pretty LARGE amounts of lemonade.

Even the religious talk didn't turn me off on this book. See Drew has VERY firm Christian beliefs and sometimes, for me anyway, that can detract from a book. That was NOT the case with this book.

I even learned a few things from the book too....Just to name one thing....I learned that for the past few years the New Orleans Saints has been made up of players that were considered "castoffs" from other teams. I guess that gave them, as a team, a chip on their shoulder and it's starting to really pay off for them.

I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a "feel good" story.