Fights, Film and Folklore ~ Tales with TR

When I heard Terry Ryan had a new book out (actually his second but at the time I didn't know about Tales Of A First Round Nothing), I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy.  Being a "Pearl Girl" with the 80's curl who grew up hanging out at the infamous Tin Can on Smallwood Drive every Friday night, hockey is in my blood. Everyone and anyone, who grew up in Mount Pearl in the seventies and eighties, has fond memories of The Blades, The Kentucky Cup, and the brutal high school hockey games between the Protestants and the Catholics (Go, Huskies, Go!!!), not to mention the infamous Zamboni driver, Phonse. So when one of your own makes it big in the hockey world, you kind of want to read about it!

Fights, Film and Folklore ~ Tales with TR is an up close and personal account of Mount Pearl native Terry Ryan's foray into the big boy world of the NHL and the Silver Screen. Written with an easy conversational style with the occasional expletive thrown in, readers will lap up the lighthearted locker room banter and the amazing tales of brute force often felt at the end of a one, two punch. No modern book about hockey would be complete without a discussion of the effects of such brutality and TR delivers on this front as well with an honest and frank discussion on the effects of Post Concussion Syndrome and the need to make improvements to the game that has become the fabric of our very being.

You spend half your life sacrificing for others in the most unique situations, actually taking bare-knuckle punches for some and blocking 100 mph shots for others. One day, you finally need someone to be there for you in the way of employment, and nothing happens, all the while watching your daughter have to eat Kraft Dinner, waiting for coupon books to provide that week's offering of protein.....Watching a guy scramble for food who just a short while earlier was skating out onto the Bell Centre ice, proud as a peacock in front of 20,000 adoring fans, is nauseating. I've been there. Many times. 

                                                                                                          Terry Ryan

Who really thinks about retirement when you're at the top of your game and in your 20's? Cue Part Two of Terry's memoir which is equally as entertaining and enlightening...life after the ice and what an athlete must do to find purpose, feed and support his family and stay sane all at the same time. Readers will enjoy hearing about the colorful stories and impromptu chance meetings with celebrities like Ethan Hawke, Jason Momoa and Gord Downie.

Fights, Film and Folklore is funny and thought provoking, well-written and quite frankly, hard to put down. For complete and utter enjoyment, I recommend pairing this book with a large cardboard plate of greasy stadium fries and your favorite cold beverage. Fights, Film and Folklore is a Flanker Press publication. 

Chasing A Dream ~ The Carl English Story by Carl English

Carl English was the face of basketball in Newfoundland and Labrador. As the former General Manager and Shooting Guard for the St. John's Edge, playing with the Canadian NBL League would be the final stop for this hometown hero from Patrick's Cove,  Newfoundland. Hailing from a small community of 70 people on the rugged shores of an island in the middle of the North Atlantic, the life of Carl English was turned upside down when he lost both parents in a tragic house fire at age 5. Separated from his brothers but living with other family members that raised him as their own, English found solace in shooting a few hoops. This narrative chronicles the life and times of a kid who spent hours perfecting his basketball skills on the side of the road to his success as a professional athlete in Europe and with the Canadian Team. But this book is more than just a sports story; this is a story of kindness and love, of hardship and survival, of success and failure. Chasing A Dream is the autobiographical journey of a little boy who had the impossible dream, his quest to achieve it and the life lessons that were learned along the way.

Written in an easy to read conversational style, Chasing A Dream ~ The Carl English Story, is first and foremost a story of overcoming obstacles.  From the beginning of the memoir readers are shattered by the unthinkable when English sadly recounts the tragic circumstances of his childhood and the ensuing bond that was formed with his Aunt Betty and Uncle Junior as they took on the role of parenting their young nephew. The reader is struck by English's honesty in describing the loneliness and profound sense of loss he experienced in losing his parents and the life he had with his four brothers. It is indeed a reminder of the resilience often seen in children when a young child, like Carl, is able to find comfort in the sport of basketball and fill the void in his life by escaping to his homemade net on the side of the road. As English chronicles the next 20 years of his basketball life, from his time as a high school student moving away from Patricks Cove in hopes of  getting prospected by the NCAA, to his college scholarship days in Hawaii and then on to crushing the European basketball circuit, we begin to gain a real appreciation of the grit and determination that is needed to navigate the world of professional sport. As readers we experience first hand the thrill of the ride and the agony of defeat and the many sacrifices that are made along the way. As English candidly recounts his innermost thoughts and feelings, we learn about the many relationships that have contributed to this young athlete's success and those who did not always act in his best interest. Whether it's advice from basketball greats like Steve Nash or playing with Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and other members of the Redeem Team, our native son always has and continues to be grounded and guided by the strength of his family, childhood sweetheart/wife Mandy and his Newfoundland roots. Though this book is repetitive at times and would benefit from another round of editing, it is an inspirational story suitable for those age 12 and up. Readers, whether sports enthusiasts or not, will thoroughly enjoy the story of Carl English and will be impressed by his positivity, perseverance and drive to overcome whatever stands in his way. Though English never quite realized his full dream he embodies the words of Edwin Louis Cole; 

                     Winners are not people who do not fail, but people who never quit!

Chasing A Dream ~ The Carl English Story will touch your heart and leave an indelible mark upon your soul, believing that the impossible IS possible. The Carl English story is a Flanker Press publication.