Shelterball

If you are unfamiliar with the game of basketball, or even if you dislike it, that does not necessarily mean you will not enjoy this book.  Everyone has their own interests and hobbies which give them pleasure, a sense of accomplishment, and serve as a form of solace or escape.  Whether it is pottery, singing, crossword puzzles, computers, etc. it is something you enjoy and are usually good at.  Inevitably, you derive some self-confidence from it.   For me, that thing has been basketball.  It has served as a friend, therapist, and often, my crutch.  It is where I have made long lasting friendships, where I have always done my best thinking, where I have contemplated and learned much about myself and life, and it is where I can simply just be myself.

Within the context of basketball, I have included everything else that I believe makes up one’s existence; There are relationships, hardships, growth and insight, all intertwined together in a story that is simply held together with the game of basketball as it’s glue.

To understand and relate to this book, you truly need to know very little about sports.  However, if you have never had a friend, have never been in love, have never  felt remorse, or have never wanted to achieve any sort of goal, this book will seem foreign to you, and I suggest you put it down immediately.

My story, I am sure, is not very different than yours; the only differences being the names, the places, and the choice of vocabulary.  Moreover, if you can feel empathy for someone else, and can also relate to feeling alone, unsure of yourself, and uncomfortable without that which you have invested so much of yourself, whatever that may be, then I suggest you give this book a chance.

The songs that appear throughout the book form my own personal built in soundtrack.  I have chosen an eclectic group of songs and artists that I feel are either appropriate or meaningful for the words that will follow.