Title/Author:
“Hard to Grip: A Memoir of Youth,
Baseball and Chronic Illness”
by Emil DeAndreis
Tags:
Baseball, high school, college, memoir, Hawaii
Publish date:
April 1, 2017
Length:
326 pages
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (outstanding)
Review:
Rheumatoid arthritis
(RA) is a chronic disease that cause swelling and eventually deterioration of
the joints. The people who are most likely to suffer from this condition are
elderly women. So imagine what it was like when a 23 year old young man who
just completed a college baseball career in Hawaii and was about to sign a
contract to play professional baseball in Belgium finds out he has this
condition. That is exactly what happened
to Emil DeAndreis. His memoir about this
situation after dreaming of a baseball career is one that will tug at every
emotion in a reader.
The stories he shares
from his experiences are funny, sad, thoughtful and honest. It is clear while
reading the book that DeAndreis is pulling no punches and fully describing his
emotions when he finds out the news about important events in his life – not just
the diagnosis of the disease. His story
about the offer of a Division I baseball scholarship from the University of
Hawaii-Hilo was one in which I was pumping my fist to cheer for him. His
subsequent description of some of the wacky happenings on the campus with his
teammates, the struggles of the team as they compiled losing records in each of
his four seasons, and the joy of earning a win against a major conference
school (the University of Kansas) are fun to read and make the reader feel like
he or she is living the college life with him.
DeAndreis, who studied
writing in college, saves his best for his battle with RA. His internal
thoughts of denial that he has the disease, the alternative treatments he tried
before medication and the support of his then-girlfriend (now wife) Kendall
makes for compelling reading. Between the description of what his body was
going through, his wish to disassociate from anything associated with baseball
because the memories are too painful, and his life afterward which included
coaching the high school baseball team for which was a star pitcher, will
inform and entertain the reader.
This book is not one
in which is meant to draw pity or sympathy for the author, nor is it one that
is written with a greater message or cause in mind. It is simply an honest story of a young man
who was diagnosed with a disease that caused him to give up his lifelong dream
and adjust to living life with different goals.
It is one that readers of many different genres will like – one does not
have to be a baseball fan to cheer for Emil in his road to life after baseball.
I wish to thank the
author and Schaffner Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in
exchange for an honest review.
Book Format Read:
Paperback
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