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A Unit of Water, a Unit of Time
by Douglas WhynottIn a time when racing boats are mass-produced from synthetic materials, a dying breed of craftsman continues to build wooden sailboats of astonishing beauty. Boatbuilding is an ancient art, and Joel White was a master. Son of the legendary writer E. B. White, he was raised around boats and his designs were as sublime and graceful as his father's prose. At a boatyard in Maine, White and his closely knit team of builders brought scores of his creations from blueprints into the ocean. In June 1996, six months after being diagnosed with cancer, Joel White began designing the W-76, an exquisite racing yacht. It was his final masterpiece. Douglas Whynott spent a year at Brooklin Boat Yard, observing as this design took shape, first in sketches and then during the painstaking building of the wooden craft. The result is the poignant tale of both a genius at work and the people devoted to his art. Evoking E. B. White's New England and its salty residents, A Unit of Water, a Unit of Time is a classic portrait of dignity, charm, and humble magnificence-and of a maritime community that keeps a vanishing world alive.
A Very Secret Affair
by Miranda LeeMatt Sheffield was a womanizer—and experience had taught Clare to avoid men like him at all costs. Though the attentions of one of Australia's biggest celebrities were very flattering, Matt wasn't offering Clare anything more than a fleeting affair. She was determined that she wouldn't fall into the same trap twice...no matter what the temptation!
A Very Tall Story
by Martin BayfieldA hilarious and, at times, moving and soul-searching account of rugby union&’s rollercoaster days in the 1990s, told through the eyes of a player who saw it all as the sport lurched shambolically from the crazy final days of amateurism into the professional era. Martin Bayfield has a story to tell. Indeed, some might describe it as a very tall story. Standing at 6ft 10ins, the former England and British and Irish Lions second row remains one of the tallest players ever to have played international rugby, and his immense physical stature made him one of the most destructive forwards in the world game. He played for England during one of the most successful eras in English rugby, winning two Grand Slams alongside legendary players such as Will Carling, Jeremy Guscott, Brian Moore and Rory Underwood. His international heyday came at a seminal moment for rugby union when, almost overnight, it was transformed from a noble minority sport to a celebrity event, with stories appearing on the front pages of the British tabloids. Now Bayfield is ready to reveal the inside story of that rip-roaring decade that changed forever the face of English rugby. The book provides an emotional link between the generations, so that today&’s fans can reconnect with rugby's soul. Renowned as one of rugby's best and most entertaining storytellers, the former policeman and Hagrid's body double has written a brilliant and very funny love letter to a sport that continues to inspire and entertain millions.
A Viagem de Recrutamento
by Lexy Timms João Rossi ParreirasA pretendente a atleta universitária Aileen Nessa acredita que o processo de recrutamento está sendo mais do que intimidante. Como a top 10 mundial nos 100 metros com barreiras aos 18 anos não foi por acaso, mesmo achando que uma corrida onde tudo se encaixa perfeitamente, pode sim sê-lo. As universidades americanas parecem não acreditar nisso. As cartas chegam de todo o país. Enquanto ela enfrenta o desafio de diferenciar entre o genuíno comprometimento para com ela e promessas vazias de treinadores caçadores de talento, Aileen parte rumo à Universidade Estadual de Gática, uma instituição da Divisão Um, para uma viagem de recrutamento. Sua melhor amiga a desafia para ir somente para ver os bonitos rapazes que aparecem no panfleto da universidade. O programa atlético da universidade possui um dos melhores corredores com barreiras do país. Tyler Jensen é o campeão da NCAA* em barreiras e Jim Thorpe o reconhecido top defensive back do futebol americano. Seus incríveis olhos azuis como o oceano e seu sorriso confiante fazem Aileen gaguejar e esquecer porque ela está visitando a UEG. Seu convite de acolhê-la caso ela decida estudar em Gática é uma proposta tentadora que a faz se perguntar se ela está fazendo um pacto com um anjo ou com o próprio diabo. *Associação Atlética de Faculdades Nacional. N do T.
A View from Two Benches: Bob Thomas in Football and the Law
by Doug FeldmannWhether in football or in the law, Illinois Supreme Court Justice Robert Thomas has always had the "best view from the bench."Bob Thomas got his start in football at the University of Notre Dame, kicking for the famed "Fighting Irish" in the early 1970s. Claimed off waivers by the Chicago Bears in 1975, Thomas helped to take the franchise from their darkest days to their brightest. Yet, on the cusp of the team's greatest moment, he was struck with a shocking blow that challenged his fortitude.In this dramatic retelling of Bob Thomas's fascinating life, renowned sports writer Doug Feldmann shows how neither football nor the law was part of Thomas's dreams while growing up the son of Italian immigrants in Rochester, New York, in the 1960s. Chasing excellence on both the gridiron and in the courtroom, however, would require resilience in ways he could not have imagined.As A View from Two Benches shows us, Bob Thomas reached the top of two separate and distinct professions, guided by a bedrock of faith that has impacted his decisions and actions as both a football player and a judge, helping him navigate the peaks and valleys of life. As Doug Feldmann reveals, Bob Thomas has always stayed true to the values he learned in his earliest days.Doug Feldmann's rich biography of an accomplished kicker and a proud justice of the law shows us that determination and resilience go a long way to a successful and impactful life.
A View from a Tall Hill: Robert Ruark in Africa
by Terry Wielandafrica; hunting; short stories; sporting Robert Ruark was perhaps the most renowned safari writer of the twentieth century. As a respected columnist and author during his lifetime, his writings have influenced thousands of hunters to travel to Africa to see the places that Ruark immortalized in his writings. Despite his impact, Ruark only wrote for a period of fifteen years, but it was a time where he lived his life to its fullest potential. He travelled all across the world in order to see and do everything he could dream of, but it was in East Africa that he came to find a spiritual home. As the area became increasingly independent of colonial rule, Ruark predicted the economic, social, and political ruin that has since been the daily reality of the region. In this detailed account of Ruark&’s life, Terry Wieland has written a definitive book on Ruark, the restless traveler, and the times in which he lived, as well as his lifelong fascination with Africa.
A View from the West Upper: A Reflective Account Through the Eyes of One Fan
by James HarrisonThis book will take Arsenal and football fans through a magical journey from spring 1995 right through to spring 2017. It describes the level of change in society whilst supporting a 21st-century football club and business. It highlights how people interact and how we look at change, but also demonstrates how important security can be too. We explore the club's adventure on and off the field through ambition, hope, risk and success, all cross-referenced to our daily real-life journey. This account will make you think back to those early days of change whilst making you laugh and appreciate how fortunate we are to support this great club and business. Regardless of how long you have been supporting Arsenal, this book will be a hugely entertaining read.
A Visitor's Guide to the Ancient Olympics
by Neil FaulknerThe essential handbook for the 21st-century citizen seeking a lively guided tour of the ancient Greek Olympics. Travel back to the heyday of the city-state and classical Greek civilization. Enter this distant, alien, but still familiar culture and discover what the Greeks did and didn&’t do during five thrilling days in August, 388 B.C.In the Olympic Stadium there were no stands, no shade—and no women allowed. Visitors sat on a grassy bank in the searing heat of midsummer to watch naked athletes compete in footraces, the pentathlon, horse and chariot races, and three combat sports—wrestling, boxing, and pankration, everyone's favorite competition, with virtually no rules and considerable blood and pain. This colorfully illustrated volume offers a complete tour of the Olympic site exactly as athletes and spectators found it. The book evokes the sights, sounds, and smells of the crowded encampment; introduces the various attendees (from champions and charlatans to aristocrats and prostitutes); and explains the numerous exotic religious rituals. Uniquely detailed and precise, this guide offers an unparalleled opportunity to travel in time, back to the excitement of ancient Olympia.&“Splendidly captures the excitement, the razzmatazz, the intensity, glamour and squalor of the ancient Olympics. Packed with anecdotes and intriguing facts, the careful scholarship behind this wonderful little book is presented with gusto.&”—Philip Matyszak, author of Ancient Athens on Five Drachmas a Day&“Ultimately the ancient Olympics were more of an epic frat party full of booze and sex than a prestigious sporting competition, and Faulkner paints that picture well.&”—Moira E. McLaughlin, The Washington Post
A Voyage Across an Ancient Ocean: A Bicycle Journey Through the Northern Dominion of Oil
by David GoodrichIn the face of widespread misinformation and misunderstanding, a climate scientist ventures into the vast heart of America&’s new oil country on just two wheels.Recently recovered from his epic bicycle journey that took him from the Delaware shore to the Oregon coast, distinguished climate scientist David Goodrich sets out on his bike again to traverse the Western Interior Seaway—an ancient ocean that once spread across half of North America. When the waters cleared a geologic age ago, what was left behind was vast, flat prairie, otherworldly rock formations, and oil shale deposits. As Goodrich journeys through the Badlands and Theodore Roosevelt National Park and across the prairies of the upper Midwest and Canada, we get a raw and ground-level view of where the tar sands and oil reserves are being opened up at an incredible and unprecedented pace. Extraordinary and unregulated, this &“black goldrush&” is boom and bust in every sense. In a manner reminiscent of John McPhee and Rachel Carson, combined with Goodrich&’s wry self-deprecation and scientific expertise, A Voyage Across an Ancient Ocean is a galvanizing and adventure-filled read that gets to the heart of drilling on our continent.
A Walk Across America
by Peter JenkinsIn this classic account, Jenkins describes how his disillusionment with society in the 1970s drove him out onto the road on a walk across America, and shares the lessons he learned about his country and himself that resonate to this day.
A Walk for Sunshine: A 2,160 Mile Expedition for Charity on the Appalachian Trail
by Jeff AltJeff Alt takes you along every step of his 2,160-mile Appalachian Trail adventure filled with humorous, frightening, and inspirational stories including bears, bugs, blisters, captivating characters, skunk bed mates, and hilarious food cravings. As Alt walked more than 5 million steps through freezing temperatures, driving rain, and sunny skies, he was constantly buoyed by the knowledge that his walk was dedicated to his brother who has cerebral palsy. Alt's adventure inspired an annual fundraiser which has raised over $500,000 for Sunshine, the home where his brother lives. This is the 20th anniversary edition. As you walk along with Alt, experience the success of turning dreams into goals and achieving them. Alt's lessons from the trail celebrate family, stewardship of the earth, good health, and the American spirit. less
A Walk from the Wild Edge: ‘This Book Has Changed Lives’ Chris Evans
by Jake TylerThe remarkable true story of one man's inspiring journey through his 3,000 mile walk across the country'A great and inspirational read' MATT HAIG, bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive'Inspiring' INDEPENDENT'An uplifting and inspirational journey through raw emotion' RAYNOR WINN, bestselling author of The Salt PathAS SEEN ON BBC BREAKFAST______Jake Tyler had forgotten how to feel alive.With only a pair of boots and a backpack, he set off on a 3000-mile walk around Britain - along coastal paths, over mountains, through every national park.His journey became his road to recovery. On it he rediscovered the British landscape, the extraordinary kindness of strangers and most importantly, his place in the world.This is his inspiring story, away from the wild edge.______'Jake you have changed people's lives . . . we are all fans!' Chris Evans, Virgin Radio'An incredible journey, an inspirational memoir . . . beautiful' Zoe Ball, BBC Radio 2'Inspiring . . . It's something that will help many through these dark times' Bryony Gordon'This book is a tonic. Until we can all get out and explore Britain's beauty for ourselves again, this is the ideal substitute' Mirror'So compelling in his honesty . . . very poignant' Express'A tale told with courageous honesty. There's much to learn here about how reconnecting with nature and trusting others can rekindle the joy of being alive' BBC Countryfile 'A testament to the power of human connection, this is a physical and mental journey to inspire hope even in the darkest of times' National Geographic
A Walk in Our Cleats: 25 Athletes Who Never Gave Up
by Steven Johnson Jr. Paul CartwrightA Walk in Our Cleats is an exciting, inside look at 25 notable NFL players and their faith journeys. Each player has faced unique circumstances in staying fit, pursuing their dreams, and getting to play in the NFL, but all have one thing in common: the power of Jesus Christ in their lives.A Walk in Our Cleats, 25 Athletes Who Never Gave Up is an inspiring, genuine, real-time read with never-before-seen photographs that will appeal to American football fans everywhere. Featuring an eye-catching four-color interior, readers will be drawn in by the short, personal entries written by each player. Fans can jump in throughout the book to browse photos and pick up inspiration from each NFL player’s unique perspective on God’s amazing grace. Each player entry includes a relevant message, their favorite Scripture passages, and an encouraging life application to encourage and motivate you in your own faith journey.Decorated and popular NFL players included in A Walk in Our Cleats are: Benjamin Watson, Ben Roethlisberger, Manny Ramirez, Miles Killebrew, Chris Harris Jr., David Bass, Lorenzo Alexander, Tyson Alualu, Jordan Matthews, Shamarko Thomas, Matthew Slater, Chris Clark, Don Carey, Arthur Moats, Derrick Morgan, Will Johnson, Wesley Woodyard, Ryan Shazier, Charles Johnson, Brandon Marshall, Tyler Patmon, Sam Acho, and Ben Garland.
A Walking Life: Reclaiming Our Health and Our Freedom One Step at a Time
by Antonia MalchikFor readers of On Trails: an incisive, utterly engaging exploration of walking: how it is fundamental to our being human, how we've designed it out of our lives, and how it is essential that we reembrace it"I'm going for a walk." How often has this phrase been uttered by someone with a heart full of anger or sorrow? Or as an invitation, a precursor to a declaration of love? Our species and its predecessors have been bipedal walkers for at least six million years; by now, we take this seemingly arbitrary motion for granted. Yet how many of us still really walk in our everyday lives? Driven by a combination of a car-centric culture and an insatiable thirst for productivity and efficiency, we're spending more time sedentary and alone than we ever have before. If bipedal walking is truly what makes our species human, as paleoanthropologists claim, what does it mean that we are designing walking right out of our lives? Antonia Malchik asks essential questions at the center of humanity's evolution and social structures: Who gets to walk, and where? How did we lose the right to walk, and what implications does that have for the strength of our communities, the future of democracy, and the pervasive loneliness of individual lives? The loss of walking as an individual and a community act has the potential to destroy our deepest spiritual connections, our democratic society, our neighborhoods, and our freedom. But we can change the course of our mobility. And we need to. Delving into a wealth of science, history, and anecdote -- from our deepest origins as hominins to our first steps as babies, to universal design and social infrastructure, A Walking Life shows exactly how walking is essential, and how deeply reliant our brains and bodies are on this simple pedestrian act -- and how we can reclaim it.
A War in Dixie: Alabama Vs. Auburn
by Ivan Maisel Kelly WhitesideEach year, on a Saturday in November, emotions run high as the entire state of Alabama comes to a halt. Stores close. Bars open. Families, friends, and couples who on any other day of the year are civil to one another become enemies. Young men strap on their equipment to partake in the annual frenzy that they will not experience again in their lives, whether or not they go on to play professionally. And a victory gives them and their fans bragging rights for a year. Short of a national championship, to win the state's own Super Bowl -- ultimately dubbed the Iron Bowl -- may well be their greatest accomplishment. Above all, the very future of the football programs themselves hinge on which team wins.With remarkable access to both schools, A War in Dixie reveals the passions and the pressures that have made the Alabama Crimson Tide-Auburn Tigers rivalry the most feverish in the nation. Both head coaches -- Tom Tuberville and Mike DuBose, in his last game at Alabama's helm -- open their doors to meetings, practices, film study, team meals, and every other activity as they prepare for the Iron Bowl. From the coaches' first meeting at seven A.M. to lights out, hour by hour, day by day, we see what the athletes and staffs endure in order to win.Looming over the proceedings are the long shadows of history: Paul "Bear" Bryant, whose Crimson Tide dominated the Tigers during his reign by winning nineteen of twenty-five contests, and Ralph "Shug" Jordan, who went head to head against the Bear for almost his entire career. And then there are the games: Ken Stabler's 47-yard touchdown run through mud in a driving rainstorm for a 7-3 victory, Van Tiffin's 52-yard field goal as time expired, and David Langner's two blocked punt returns for touchdowns that led to Auburn's shocking upset in what became known as the "Punt, Bama, Punt" game.Featuring a foreword by Ken Stabler, a former Crimson Tide All-American, A War in Dixie is hard-hitting proof of a hit of local wisdom: This isn't life or death, it's more important: it's Alabama-Auburn football!
A Warrior's Heart
by Joe Layden Micky WardThe critically acclaimed, Academy Award-winning film The Fighter made the world stand up and cheer for the inspiring true story of "Irish" Micky Ward--a heart-and-soul warrior who overcame the odds to make history in the ring. But that was only part of the tale... Starting with his first bout at the age of seven, Micky Ward gave as good as he got and left absolutely everything he had in the ring. Quitting was never an option. It was that indomitable spirit that would allow him to overcome the harsh realities that he faced every day. For it was outside the ring that Ward's heart would be most needed, from witnessing his idolized older half brother Dicky's fall from grace, to dealing with his wildly dysfunctional--if frighteningly loyal--family, to harboring the darkest of secrets, which he has never revealed until now. Micky Ward has faced numerous setbacks and defeats that would have stopped a lesser man, but he has remained a fighter, through and through--both as a professional boxer and as a man who finally found his greatest strength in friendship, family and faith in himself.
A Way with Horses
by Peter McpheeCaroline grew up around horses and had been a tough, skilled rider as long as she could remember. When she wins a rodeo near her Millarville, Alberta home, the owner of a posh riding school recognizes her talent invites her to learn show jumping, free of charge. Soon she's moving in a different world, full of thoroughbred horses, expensive trainers, and rich, sophisticated students. As Caroline trains to try out for the Jump Alberta Team, however, she learns that success in the show ring comes at a high price, win or lose. A Way with Horses shows how one athlete's ambitions can come into conflict with the complexities of her sport.
A Well-Paid Slave
by Brad SnyderAfter the 1969 season, the St. Louis Cardinals traded their star center fielder, Curt Flood, to the Philadelphia Phillies, setting off a chain of events that would change professional sports forever. At the time there were no free agents, no no-trade clauses. When a player was traded, he had to report to his new team or retire. Unwilling to leave St. Louis and influenced by the civil rights movement, Flood chose to sue Major League Baseball for his freedom. His case reached the Supreme Court, where Flood ultimately lost. But by challenging the system, he created an atmosphere in which, just three years later, free agency became a reality. Flood’s decision cost him his career, but as this dramatic chronicle makes clear, his influence on sports history puts him in a league with Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali. .
A Whirlwind . . . Makeover
by Nancy LavoWhen it came to reinventing a client's image, Maddie Sinclair knew just what to do. But when it came to her own remake, she didn't have a clue.Until photographer Dan Willis took one look at her and knew the most photogenic models in the world couldn't compare to what he saw in Maddie. She was a rare and true beauty, from rher flashing eyes and easy smile to her genuine kindness. Now, no one could be more willing than Dan to play fairy godfather, but was he ready for other men to learn what he already knew: Maddie was gorgeous...inside and out!
A Whole New Ball Game
by Belle PaytonMiddle school gets multiplied in this new series about twins Alex and Ava, whose father is the coach of a small-town Texas football team!When twelve-year-old twins Alex and Ava Sackett move from the East Coast to Texas so their dad can coach an elite high school football team, they have to get used to not only a whole new school and town, but also the fame that comes with being football's first family. They've got a plan to make it through: stick together! Because even though Alex and Ava are total opposites, they've always stuck together. But then Ava cuts her hair short, and Alex fears that Ava wants a new town to mean a new start--as an individual. At the same time, Alex's concern has Ava wondering if she's no longer cool enough for her twin. Are Alex and Ava still the same dynamic duo they've always been, or are they headed down different paths?
A Whole New Ball Game: The Story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
by Sue MacyDescribes the activities of the members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, the women's professional baseball league that existed between 1943 and 1954.
A Whole New Ball Game: The Story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
by Sue MacySue Macy presents an engrossing and deeply researched account of women's baseball in A Whole New Ball Game: The Story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League."Play ball!" yelled the umpires as the teams of the AAGPBL took the field in the tense, war-torn days of 1943. Like all professional baseball players, these athletes scrambled to their positions, tossed balls across diamonds, and filled the air with chatter. But there was something different about them--they all wore skirts, went to charm school, and continually had to answer one question: "What is a woman doing playing baseball?"What were they doing? Having a great time, playing top-notch ball, and showing that a woman's place was at home only when she was at bat, behind the plate, or scoring a run. For twelve seasons, from 1943 to 1954, some of America's best female athletes earned their livings by playing baseball. This is their story in their own words, a tale of no-hitters and chaperones, stolen bases and practical jokes, home runs and run-ins with fans.Life in the league, however, was not all fun. Born out of a wartime "manpower" shortage, the AAGPBL ended with the growth of television and the ideal of the suburban home. Here, too, is the story of America's changing attitudes toward men and women and the roles we expect each to play. Author Sue Macy spent eleven years tracking down the women of the AAGPBL, interviewing them, and looking at their scrapbooks. Along the way she found that their odyssey did not end with the collapse of the league.The same courage and spunk the players displayed on the field led them to get back in touch with each other in the 1980s, to remind the world of what they had achieved, and to take their rightful places in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Balancing the voices of the women of the league with a lively, insightful overview of the changing patterns of American life, A Whole New Ball Game is a sports story full of telling insights about who we expect to be at home and how women can get back to first base.
A Wider Social Role for Sport: Who's Keeping the Score?
by Fred CoalterSport is perceived to have the potential to alleviate a variety of social problems and generally to ‘improve’ both individuals and the communities in which they live. Sport is promoted as a relatively cost effective antidote to a range of social problems – often those stemming from social exclusion - including poor health, high crime levels, drug abuse and persistent youth offending, educational under-achievement, lack of social cohesion and community identity and economic decline. To this end, there is increasing governmental interest in what has become known as ‘sport for good’. A Wider Social Role for Sport presents the political and historical context for this increased government interest in sport’s potential contribution to a range of social problems. The book explores the particular social problems that governments seek to address through sport, and examines the nature and extent of the evidence for sport’s positive role. It illustrates that, in an era of evidence-based policy-making, the cumulative evidence base for many of these claims is relatively weak, in part because such research is faced with substantial methodological problems in isolating the precise contribution of sport in many contexts. Drawing on worldwide research, A Wider Social Role for Sport explores the current state of knowledge and understanding of the presumed impacts of sport and suggests that we need to adopt a different approach to research and evaluation if sports researchers are to develop their understanding and make a substantial contribution to sports policy..
A Window to Heaven: The Daring First Ascent of Denali: America's Wildest Peak
by Patrick DeanThe captivating and heroic story of Hudson Stuck—an Episcopal priest—and his team's history-making summit of Denali.In 1913, four men made a months-long journey by dog sled to the base of the tallest mountain in North America. Several groups had already tried but failed to reach the top of a mountain whose size—occupying 120 square miles of the earth&’s surface —and position as the Earth&’s northernmost peak of more than 6,000 meters elevation make it one of the world&’s deadliest mountains. Although its height from base to top is actually greater than Everest&’s, it is Denali's weather, not altitude, that have caused the great majority of fatalities—over a hundred since 1903. Denali experiences weather more severe than the North Pole, with temperatures of forty below zero and winds that howl at 80 to 100 miles per hour for days at a stretch. But in 1913 none of this mattered to Hudson Stuck, a fifty-year old Episcopal priest, Harry Karstens, the hardened Alaskan wilderness guide, Walter Harper, and Robert Tatum, both just in their twenties. They were all determined to be the first to set foot on top of Denali. In A Window to Heaven, Patrick Dean brings to life this heart-pounding and spellbinding feat of this first ascent and paints a rich portrait of the frontier at the turn of the twentieth century. The story of Stuck and his team will lead us through the Texas frontier and Tennessee mountains to an encounter with Jack London at the peak of the Yukon Goldrush. We experience Stuck's awe at the rich Aleut and Athabascan indigenous traditions—and his efforts to help preserve these ways of life. Filled with daring exploration and rich history, A Window to Heaven is a brilliant and spellbinding narrative of success against the odds.
A Winning Season: A Will, A Wish, A Wedding / A Winning Season (wickham Falls Weddings) (Wickham Falls Weddings #10)
by Rochelle AlersSliding home…for a lifetimeThe girl next door…Or a grand slam love?Baseball ace Sutton Reed’s returned home triumphant after years in the majors. When he moves next door to a troubled young man, he’s determined to help—for the boy’s sake and for the boy’s gorgeous older sister, Zoey Allen. After sacrificing everything to keep her family together, Zoey has no time for romance…even with a hometown hero. But will this unlikely combo be the home run love story they all deserve?Nationally Bestselling Author