A Good, No, GREAT Book

The other night while watching the commercial for "The Blind Side" for the 50th time, I wondered if this happened to have been a book prior. Someone posted on Facebook that yes, in fact it is a book and was supposed to be very good. Glenn has been in Las Vegas on business for the last week and he called while I was in Wal-Mart yesterday picking up some Halloween costume goodies and I mentioned that I was going to look for this book. He replied that he had a copy and it was on the shelf in the den and that it was probably the best book he had ever read. So, I found it and started it last night. All I can say is that if you love football, humankind and kids of all ages and races, this book is incredible.

It started with some NFL background and then it gets into the heart of the story of Michael Oher. Michael grew up in Memphis in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country. He basically had no education because he had no family (his mother was a drug addict and his father was absent, he pretty much lived with whomever wherever he could) and in a lot of ways the public education system failed this child. He was passed from one grade to the other in spite of the fact that he had no basic skills and upwards of 50 absences a semester. Some of his years the schools don't even have record that he was there!!! And, please don't think this was "long ago"....the story starts when he enters a Christian private school in 2004!

Through a series of events that are almost unbelieveable, he is enrolled in the private school and comes under the wing of a wonderful family. With them he finally gets clothes, food and his first ever bed. Even with all of the sports background, and, yes, I know the focus of this story is in fact Oher's entrance into the world of football, it is probably the best book I have ever read, also. I cried through the entire chapter detailing Oher's journey to Briarcrest and his new "family".

I won't give any more details, but if you need a good read, I recommend it. And, if you are more of a watcher, the movie comes out the weekend before Thanksgiving. With that said, I'm off to read the next chapter.....