Customer Reviews

Another Season

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a parent of a young boy with Down Syndrome I very much enjoyed this book and recomend it to any new parent. It made me laugh, it made me cry and it opened my eyes to see how far the world has come with accepting people with disabilities. And just to know that there are parents before me who struggled with their child just as I struggle with mine and they too learned to live in a whole new world. And celebrated every little accomplishment just as we do with our son.

Gene Stallings is a man's man. A father's father. He was, and still is, a great coach, husband, and teacher. Yet he has a tender compassion not always seen in men of his calling. He owes much of that part of him to his son and he knows it. He has taken the sorrow and pain his family bore and turned it into an story of amazing hard work, courage, and love. This book should be one of the first things read by a couple faced with the reality of a Down Syndrome baby. Coach Stallings shows us there is life after DS, and it can be very good, indeed,it can be wonderful.

I received this book unexpectedly after making a donation to my alma mater, from which Coach Stallings' daughters also graduated. Until then, I didn't even know the story had been written. The book fascinated me from many angles -- as a teacher, as the sister of someone born with a congenital handicap (whose parents were likewise advised to put him in an institution), as a reader of this genre of literature, and most of all, as someone who as a kid knew and adored John Mark Stallings.

Many have commented on the way the author plainly tells his early disappointments, fears, and frustrations at having his only son be born with such apparent limitations. I, too, initially felt uncomfortable. However, I came to admire Mr. Stallings' willingness to expose to scorn the ideas that he had back in the 1960s and 70s, ideas that over the course of the book he does slowly show to have been mistaken. By the end of the book it is clear he realizes that people born with Down syndrome are far more capable and have a more meaningful life than was dreamed of at the time John Mark was born. The narrative also puts into perspective the origins of those ideas.

The end result is an honest portrait by an unfailingly honest man, and the book shows the strong and loving relationship between Johnny and his father today.

-- Andrea

This is simply a must read for any fan of college sports. This book helps remind us that there are a few coaches that care about there players lives and futures. This was a touching story that shares how a scrawny, hard-working kid became a good football player for a great coach (Bear Bryant). He then shares how Bear helped mold his life as a coach and person and how it helped him raise a son with Down Syndrome and coach Alabama to a national title.

There are a lot of great books out there you can read and be entertained in the process. A few of those books will even linger in your memory for awhile after you've finished them. It's more rare to read a book that really touches your heart and mind and provokes a change in your life.

ANOTHER SEASON is one of those very extraordinary books that takes hold of the reader's attention in a powerful way that transcends language. It's certainly a great read--at times, even very enjoyable, as Coach Stallings describes various triumphs on the football field. But, at times, it's also painful, and painfully honest...maybe even gut-wrenching. One admires Coach Stallings for his candor and vulnerability; one envies the deep love between he and his son, John Mark.

Through it all, we get a moving portrait of a caring, honorable, courageous family and get a glimpse into a father-son relationship that sets an example of what any father or son could hope for in terms of love, devotion, faithfulness, and friendship. John Mark Stallings is a heroic young man born with Down Syndrome. He has defied all odds, surviving and living with it, and touching millions of lives in the process. This young man has taught so many people how to live a life filled with meaning, purpose, and love, just like his famous daddy.

This story is personal to me in many ways: I have a close relative who has lived with a particular developmental challenge ever since her birth, and we love her dearly--she adds great richness to our family, despite her difficulties. It's also personal to me because I am a life-long Alabama Crimson Tide football fan, and I lived in Alabama during that glorious 1992-1993 National Championship season. I can tell you that everybody in our state, no matter what football team they followed, was and is a big fan of Mr. John Mark Stallings.

RECOMMENDATION: I cannot say enough good about this book. It will appeal to a broad range of readership; certainly, football fans will enjoy it, but also families and friends who have faced similar challenges as the Stallings family has will find much encouragement and inspiration here. John Mark, you're our hero. We love you, buddy. God bless the Stallings family, and thanks, Coach, for this deeply moving book.

This is an autobiography by a person who has had a highly successful career in college and pro football but knows the world does not start and end with sports. The raising of the Stallings' son Johnny, who has Down syndrome, is the real focus here. The two stories, football and family, are intertwined, as the authors never lose sight of the family even while describing the high and low points of Gene Stallings' coaching career. Indeed, Johnny as he grows shares in his father's work. The book gives insight into both the game and the people in it and in the Coach's family. These people are brought alive for the reader. It is the best book `about' football I have read.

On the surface, Coach Stalling's book rekindles emotions that all Alabama football fans felt during the 1992 Football season. Just re-living the Sugar Bowl win and National Championship was worth the reading book.

On an emotional level, seeing that even someone so involved in something as football knows that hsi family is his first priority, really affected me. As a divorced, professional mother of 2 small children, I often get my priorites out of order. When I am frusterated with my children's behavior, I often remember how Coach accepts Johnny and does not expect things from him that he cannot do. Reading "Another Season" has helped me to slow down, enjoy my children, have reasonable expectations from them, and really enjoy them.

I was also able to astonish friends and co-workers with my football knowlege when I was correctly named the Miami player George Teague took a ball away from in that infamous Sugar Bowl game.

Thank you Coach Stalling and Johnny.

Coach Stallings does not pull any punches. He writes of raising his son who has down syndrome with an honesty not seen often.

the subject of this heartwarming story has passed away and coach has written an addition to the book. since i am sending the copy i bought to a friend who has a son with downs, i hoped that an updated version would have been sent.

I really enjoyed this book. A very moving story involving a father's love and football. You can't get any better than that! Great summer reading!