Jeffrey Rasley's Blog - Posts Tagged "coming-of-age"
Book Review of Monsters of the Midway 1969: Sex, Drugs, Rock 'n' Roll, Viet Nam, Civil Rights, and Football
https://www.ddsreviews.in/2020/07/spo...
Excerpt from the book:
At the end of the afternoon practice on the third day of doubles, Jack’s flat-topped ex-US Marines high-school coach lined up all the players. With spittle flying from his lips the coach stomped along the line of players growling and yelling. He punched each of the players in the stomach and shouted, “Tough as nails!” That did it for Jack. That was the moment he decided the cost wasn’t worth the benefit. It wasn’t the punch. It was the insufferable behavior of his coach. He decided he wasn’t going to put up with that kind of Fascist shit anymore. After the last practice of the preseason he quit.
Excerpt from the book:
At the end of the afternoon practice on the third day of doubles, Jack’s flat-topped ex-US Marines high-school coach lined up all the players. With spittle flying from his lips the coach stomped along the line of players growling and yelling. He punched each of the players in the stomach and shouted, “Tough as nails!” That did it for Jack. That was the moment he decided the cost wasn’t worth the benefit. It wasn’t the punch. It was the insufferable behavior of his coach. He decided he wasn’t going to put up with that kind of Fascist shit anymore. After the last practice of the preseason he quit.
Hero's Journey now in Audio Book
Hero's Journey tells the stories of two small-town sports heroes; one never failed, the other became a homeless alcoholic before completing his hero's journey. The book (published by Midsummer Books) is now available as an audio book, as well as a paperback and eBook.
On one level the book is a detective story about John Ritter, the best basketball player from Goshen, Indiana, my hometown. He graduated from Goshen High School in 1969, but still holds all the scoring records in basketball and some in baseball. He was a star for the IU Hoosiers and captain of Bob Knight's first Final Four team in 1973. He was drafted by the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers, and then coached at Ole Miss. He became an executive at Eli Lilly, and then John disappeared. I set out to discover what happened to John and why. What I discovered is heart-breaking, but ultimately hopeful and uplifting.
The book is also an examination and critique of how our "heroes" are treated, when they thrill us, and mistreated, when they disappoint us.
https://www.amazon.com/Heros-Journey-...
Cheers and Happy New Year!
On one level the book is a detective story about John Ritter, the best basketball player from Goshen, Indiana, my hometown. He graduated from Goshen High School in 1969, but still holds all the scoring records in basketball and some in baseball. He was a star for the IU Hoosiers and captain of Bob Knight's first Final Four team in 1973. He was drafted by the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers, and then coached at Ole Miss. He became an executive at Eli Lilly, and then John disappeared. I set out to discover what happened to John and why. What I discovered is heart-breaking, but ultimately hopeful and uplifting.
The book is also an examination and critique of how our "heroes" are treated, when they thrill us, and mistreated, when they disappoint us.
https://www.amazon.com/Heros-Journey-...
Cheers and Happy New Year!
Just Published by Midsummer Books
The book is the fictional memoir of an 18-year-old hitchhiking across the country in 1972. But it was inspired by the humorous, bizarre, and scary experiences I had hitchhiking from Goshen, Indiana to Key West and then to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, after dropping out of college for a term. On the road, Jack meets gypsies, tramps, and thieves, Good Samaritans, and Jesus in a Ferrari. He is accosted by sexual predators and fanatic "religious" cultists and given shelter by anti-war and civil rights activists, hippies, and military veterans living by a "pay it forward" ethic. Jack even encounters, as I did, two candidates campaigning to be the nominee of the Democratic Party for the US Presidency, George Wallace and Shirley Chisholm (who kissed me on the cheek).
The book tells a “coming of age” story through the voices of a naive young man and an older and wiser one. In the youth’s quest for adventure and independence he rediscovers the importance of family, friends, and community. The protagonist also comes to understand, as I did, that learning through experience and formal academic-education are both worthy quests.
A Hitchhiker’s Big Adventure: On the road from Indiana to Key West and New Orleans for Mardi Gras 1972
The link is https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPVR4TLJ
It was a lot of fun to write, so I hope you will check it out.
The book tells a “coming of age” story through the voices of a naive young man and an older and wiser one. In the youth’s quest for adventure and independence he rediscovers the importance of family, friends, and community. The protagonist also comes to understand, as I did, that learning through experience and formal academic-education are both worthy quests.
A Hitchhiker’s Big Adventure: On the road from Indiana to Key West and New Orleans for Mardi Gras 1972
The link is https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPVR4TLJ
It was a lot of fun to write, so I hope you will check it out.
