Book Review: Home Run

The Story of a Man Who Runs Away . . . All the Way Home

Major League baseball player Cory Brand excels at hitting home runs—but he’s striking out in his personal life. After years of hard partying and reckless living, a DUI and team suspension land him back in the Oklahoma town where he started.

Forced to coach the local Little League team and spend eight weeks in Celebrate Recovery©, the only twelve-step program in town, Cory must face the memories of an abusive father—and the love Cory left behind. What he doesn’t realize is that the road to recovery will take him through the childhood pain he longs to forget and into a freedom he’s never known before.

Based on the major motion picture starring Vivica A. Fox and Scott Elrod, Home Run: The Novel reminds us that no one is beyond the healing power of God.

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Travis Thrasher is the author of more than twenty works of fiction, including Paper Angels and Letters From War. He has been called “the Nicholas Sparks of Christian fiction” by Christian Retailing magazine. Travis lives with his wife and daughters in a suburb of Chicago.

My Impressions:

I’ve got to be honest here. I probably never would have picked up Home Run by Travis Thrasher to read for pleasure. It’s about baseball and in particular a baseball player crashing and burning due to his own choices. It definitely sounded like a guy book to me. But I was offered the chance to read and review it, so thought why not? Well, I was wrong. Home Run by Travis Thrasher, a novelization of the movie, is a moving account of a man desperately in need of God’s grace, love and forgiveness. And aren’t we all?

Cory Brand is a baseball All Star with big problems. His hitting is in a slump, his knee hurts and his drinking is spiraling out of control. An altercation involving a bad call and hitting a batboy in the nose lands him on YouTube and back in his hometown of Okmulgee, Oklahoma where he must confront demons past and present. On suspension from his team, Cory has to coach a local Little League team and attend Celebrate Recovery, a faith based 12 step program.

Thrasher does a good job of taking the images of a movie and translating them into a very readable book. The present day chapters are divided by glimpses into what made Cory Brand, the man and baseball player. Cory had a tough childhood, but his choices in dealing with pain and disappointment are what has led him to this low point in his life and career. The book is also a great look into the Celebrate Recovery program.

Although you can certainly read this book if you are not a guy, I think Home Run would be a great addition to a High School guys small group discussion. I plan on passing it on to the youth minister at our church. It would also be a great family read with your teenagers. It will definitely generate great conversations about the choices we make, what it takes to be successful and how to deal with the what the world expects from us.

Recommended.

(Thank you to David C. Cook for a copy of Home Run. The opinions expressed are mine alone.)

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