Customer Reviews

Centered by a Miracle: A True Story of Friendship, Football and Life

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This is a wery interesting and inspirational story. It truly exemplifies teamwork. The story is fasinating because these two guys are so different yet they are able to come together in the spirit of encouragement. I would recommend this reading to anyone going through a difficult time whom needs their spirit lifted.

Wali Waiters

Steve Rom is a 30-something sports writer who has survived cancer twice. Today he lives and works in Miami but his heart is still in Anne Arbor where he befriended Rod Payne, the gentle giant who made him a winner against cancer. Payne was an all-american center on some very good Wolverine football teams whose body broke down in his very short NFL career. When the two met, both were dealing with becoming adults. Payne had been the golden boy in Miami and Michigan but after retiring at age 23, he was struggling to find his way. Rom was a lazy sportswriter who was living off the one scoop he had inadvertently gotten years earlier.

Payne teaches Rom the value of discipline, team work, focus, and leadership. Rom applies this to his medical treatments and maybe more important his life. Payne continues to struggle with his post-football identity, first trying to start a small car business and then becoming a teacher. NFL signing bonuses dont last forever and today Payne is back in Miami, a successful high school football head coach.

Rom struggles to come to terms with his family problems. His parents divorced when he was very young, mother and father live thousands of miles apart, and father remains aloof. Rom also finds direction in Jesus Christ, becoming an energizing speaker for Christians and Jews like himself who believe in the Messiah.

Not a bad book, short beach read. It is not well written, Rom likes flashbacks and it is never clear when or where the story is set. He will do better with features than novels. At times the boys are a bit sophomoric but they mean well, even though their apartment reminds me of Animal House.