Good morning bookworms! I finished this lovely memoir last week and it gets a solid 4 stars from me. Sean Conley reached out to me on Instagram asking if I wanted to read it. I was a little unsure at first because I do not watch football. But I did some research into Sean and the book and discovered it was more about the struggles of becoming a professional athlete and the journey through what do you do after. Sean discovered a love for yoga which I also share and that is why I decided to read and review his book. His publisher sent me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is a memoir that starts at the beginning, with Sean as a child in the 80’s being diagnosed with ADD and prescribed Ritalin. He was a high energy child that eventually learned to channel that energy into sports. He soon decides he wants to play in the NFL as a kicker. He talks about his struggles with ADD and the fact that his high school didn’t have a football team. Meaning he would have to try to walk-on as a player nobody knows about for college football. The NFL drafts most of their players from Division 1 colleges, and Sean doesn’t get into a Division 1 college, he ends up at a Division 3 college. But he keeps fighting and with the support of his coach Amos and his parents he transfers in his junior year to a Division 1 school. Now he has to fight the odds of getting onto the team when they only need 1 kicker. The NFL only has 28 teams, which means there are only 28 kicker positions and only 2-3 kicker openings each year for the draft. Sean keeps pushing and pushing to claim one of these spots.
I found his perseverance inspiring but I loved this book because of his relationship with Karen. His college sweetheart and biggest supporter. They have no money and they still manage to raise a baby and have a small wedding. Karen is always pushing Sean to keep trying and fight for his dream while she builds them a home. It was so sweet. And later when Sean’s NFL career is over, he supports her fully in her dreams of opening a yoga studio. The last 50 pages of the book were my favourite. They both find happiness with their kids and their yoga studio.
I would recommend this memoir if you enjoy football or yoga or both, but also as a nice true love story. The writing is great for a memoir too. I sometimes find memoirs get too caught up in the little details, but not Sean. He told the story of his whole life until now with great pacing and intrigue. I highly recommend!
Happy reading!
Angie
Read With Angie 