Playing With Fire [Hardcover]

Theo Fleury (Author), Kirstie McLellan Day (Author), Wayne Gretzky (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 14, 2009

In Playing With Fire, Theo Fleury takes us behind the bench during his glorious days as an NHL player, and talks about growing up devastatingly poor and in chaos at home. Dark personal issues began to surface, and drinking, drugs, gambling, and girls ultimately derailed a career that had him destined for the Hall of Fame. Fleury shares all in this raw, captivating, and honest look at the previously untold story of one the game's greatest heroes.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Theo Fleury won a World Junior title, a Turner Cup, a Stanley Cup as a rookie with the Calgary Flames, and later a Canada Cup and an Olympic gold medal. A former player with the Colorado Avalanche, the New York Rangers, and the Chicago Blackhawks, he is now a motivational speaker and businessman. He lives in Calgary, Alberta. Kirstie McLellan Day is an author whose screenplays and books include the true-crime novel No Remorse: A Father's Murderous Rage; Under the Mat (the Diana Hart story); and Above and Beyond, a biography of cable magnate J. R. Shaw. She writes two weekly entertainment columns for the Calgary Herald and is the CEO of Pyramid Productions Inc., a film and television company. Wayne Gretzky is a former professional ice hockey player generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books; First Edition edition (October 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600781993
• ISBN-13: 978-1600781995
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #630,015 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Put your hand into the flame -- you'll be glad you did October 20, 2009

By B. Beazley

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is one of the best memoirs I've ever read. Actually, it's one of the best books I've ever read. I've read a lot of memoirs and biographies, and this one is brutally honest -- heartbreakingly so.

Theo Fleury's book contains many stories. It's the story of a Canadian who grew up poor on the prairies and clung to his dream like a lifeline. It's a story of a broken, lonely childhood plagued by demons and abuse. It's a story about the drive to be the best at a particular sport. It's a story of addiction to booze, drugs, and sex. It's a story of both dizzying success and financial failure. But most of all, it's a story about what it means to be human and what it's like to live in constant pain...and to find relief in things that only make matters worse.

Anyone who loves hockey (especially the Calgary Flames) will love this book. Ditto anyone who's been abused or anyone who struggles (or struggled) with substance abuse and suicidal impulses. Theo has written a book for both sports fans and those who don't care about sports. His story is painful, but it deserves to be heard. And hopefully it will help anyone who struggles with the same issues that affected him.

Thank you, Theo, for writing this book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Must read for any hockey fan November 23, 2009

By T. Durden

Format:Hardcover

I have a lot more respect for Theo after reading what he was going through. I followed him since his rookie year, this book helps answer a lot of questions at to what was going on behind the scenes. Its actually a really good read and Im happy to see Theo where he is today. It says as much about abuse and addiction as it does about hard work and determination. Im a hockey, Flames and Theo fan so for me this book was a 5 out of 5.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Author November 17, 2009

By John Leak

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

While I have NEVER been a real fan of Theo Fleury nor a fan of the Flames, I got the book because I always had respect for the little man that chose to play hockey like he was 6 foot 2. (plus the Flames were my dad's team since they were in Atlanta). It has given me alot of insight into why he played the game the way he did. I may not have liked Fleury, but I still respected him.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Little Engine that could...and did! March 24, 2010

By Flyinhighagain

Format:Hardcover

One look at Theo Fleury and it's apparent what would be held against him his whole hockey career--5'6"! What's not apparent is the quick feet, great hands and scoring touch, and a fire inside to show you, by any means necessary, that he can and will beat you!

This book is the classic story of the undersized kid from Russell Saskachewan, who tore up junior leagues and minor leagues, to stand on top of the world in the NHL with Lord Stanley's Cup and over 450 career goals. Oh yeah, throw in a gold medal. Theo guides you through his life and career, telling funny stories from the road and locker rooms, like you were hanging out with him at some bar. He speaks candidly about his insatiable appetite for partying that cost him several relationships and ultimately his career, but really makes no apologies for it. His life does come full circle with happiness and sobriety, but the books never breaks into "self help" mode.

A few things I really enjoyed about the reading of the book: All of the chapters are very short, but the book itself is a good length. I like to read in short bursts, so this was perfect for me. There was also a good mix of road stories and life history. Theo was always very open and honest about his feelings. If he thought an opponent was a dirt bag, he definately did not mind saying it. The book was a very easy, interesting read and should be a manual for anyone that was ever told they were too small!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Journey Through the Darkness January 1, 2012

By Roseanne E. Freese

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Like one of the ghostly masks invented by the goalie Jacques Plante, the face of Theo Fleury, star forward and Stanley Cup winner of the Calgary Flames, floats on the front cover of his stunning and moving autobiography full of scars, shadows, and dust. Unlike Jacques, the 5'6", 150-pound right wing faced more than pucks flung by 230-pound demons. In this superb piece of hockey writing, Theo Fleury, with this co-author Kirstie McLellan Day, reveals to the world the dreams, suffering, and glories of his life. I loved this book - reading it three times for its insights into the wild and raunchy world of hockey, its reflections on the life broken by abuse and addiction, and for the sheer rhythm of its "thrill of victory and agony of defeat."

Theo came from Cree-Quebecoise (Métis) stock and grew up in the Canadian bush town of Russell, Manitoba. His first gear bag was an old pillowcase and he did not own a new pair of skates until he was a teenager. Yet, from the age of 5 he dreamt every day of playing in The Show, the National Hockey League. Fleury, however, was also born under a dark star. Theo's dad, a hockey player injured in his prime, had turned to alcohol and his mom found consolation in Valium and distraction in the doomsday dreams of the Jehovah's Witnesses. When a prominent coach, Graham James, who would later win a "Mr. Hockey" trophy from the Canadian junior leagues, took interest in him at the age of 13, young Theo thought that his dream of making the NHL would come true.

Unfortunately, Theo would have to pay a price that no child should ever have to pay. For three long years his coach molested him. Theo knew well that if he dared speak a word, his future would be forfeited, and worse, he and not James, would be blamed.... His parents did not bother to go to his games or see him in the hospital after a near-death accident on the ice when he was 12, so why would he expect better of the world? Indeed, the Montreal Gazette, in reporting James' guilty plea to abuse against Fleury and one other victim on December 7, 2011 even went so far to say that Fleury had "enabled" his coach. Child survivors of sexual abuse are still waiting for the Gazette to apologize.

Helpless, Theo acquiesced to the shame and fear, but the self-disgust and suffering would exact its own toll. Theo writes, "The most influential adult in my life at the time was telling me that what I thought was wrong was right. I no longer had faith in myself or my own judgment. And when you come down to it, that's all a person has. Once its gone, how do you get it back?" (Page 27) As he was molested in empty hotel rooms, so Theo would fear the dark, the silence, and being alone. He would seek any means he could to fill the hole in his soul.

Fortunately for the world, Theo also had a spark and that spark would not be put out.

As candid about his fears and suffering as he is about the joys of lacing up, Theo with pure panache and great gusto regales the reader with tale after tale of the men he played with and played against. Happy to document that the 1989 Stanley Cup was one of the best things he ever slept with, Theo with passion and verve will happily tell you of his miracle goals, broken sticks, and manic plays that were the stuff of his success, including a gold medal for Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics. Nicknamed "The Weasel," Theo was ready to take on everyone, be it Marty McSorley the protector, Kerry Fraser the referee, Don Cherry the host of Hockey Night in Canada, or even Doug Risebrough, the General Manager of the Flames. He absolutely had no respect for men who did not respect the game and the men who played it. Of Sean Avery he writes, "In eight years in the NHL, he's changed teams four times...That's because he's a clown - about as popular in the dressing room as a case of the crabs." (Pages 272-273) His stories are rolling on the floor hilarious. When Blackhawks' coach Mike Keenan, who had recently been convicted of a DUI, chirped at Theo from the bench, Theo from the face-off circle chirped back, "Hey Mike, do you need my driver's license to get home?" (Page 100) Theo the strategist had no respect for "defensive systems" coaches but instead [he] "like[s] the Crosbys, Ovechkins, and Kovalchuks of the world, because no matter what the coach tells them, they are going to play their way." (Page 103) After all, "If I have possession of the puck, why would I want to give it up?" (Page 103)

Theo is also generous in his praise. For every athlete and manager that he resented, there are at least 10 times as many men that he respected. He admired anyone who played hard, used his head, or stuck up for his mates. In addition to the hundreds of players he mentions in his book, he shows that he is a man of strategy and grit. And though over the years his drunken rages and gambling binges would cause him to lose literally millions of dollars and receive multiple game suspensions, his friends were many and they stuck by him, including oil businessman Chuck Matson, Flames Coach Brian Suter, and the Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky.

However, no matter how high in the hockey world would Theo rise, he could not get away from the abuse and neglect of his childhood. Though Theo has some choice words for the culture of alcohol and denial in the NHL, he would also be the first to take responsibility for his own alcoholism, addiction to cocaine, gambling, and strippers. For all the finesse and control he exhibited on the rink, his personal life was a never ending drama of broken marriages, drinking binges, and gambling parties that would escalate in intensity and duration. Skating back and forth between the nets of recovery and relapse, it took years of effort before Theo could face the ghosts of his past and the ghosts of his own creation.

He found lasting sobriety in 2005 and by publishing his book in 2009, the Government of Canada had no choice but to bring Graham James to trial. The boy had now become the man. "If you want your life back, you cannot hand it over to the memory and let the perpetrator steal your future." (Page 312) Fortunately for Fleury, his story does not end there. James, had already been found guilty in 1997 for his abuse of Sheldon Kennedy, Fleury's teenage teammate. Kennedy, whose depression had brought his career to an end in the mid `90s, had reached his Rubicon and came forward. James served only three years in jail for the Kennedy 1997 conviction before strangely receiving a pardon from the Government of Canada. As of this writing (New Year's Day 2012) James will be sentenced in Winnipeg for his crimes against Fleury and another victim on February 22, 2012.

For those of you who love hockey, for those of you who are troubled by the Penn State Sandusky scandal, and for those of you who wish to believe that the light is greater than the darkness, read this book. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will be richly rewarded for getting to know this wonderful and courageous human being. Theo Fleury, may you always skate in beauty. Skennen'Kowa - Go in Peace. Read more ›