Touchback [Kindle Edition]

Don Handfield (Author)

Book Description

** NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE **

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU GOT A SECOND CHANCE?

When Scott Murphy scored the winning touchdown in the 1991 state championship game, it should have launched a golden future—the full scholarship to Ohio State, the million-dollar signing bonus, marriage to the beauty queen, and NFL glory.

Instead, it all ended with a sickening pop as his leg shattered in four places. The next twenty years would be a study in Murphy’s Law—whatever could go wrong did. Just when things seem at their worst—he's losing his farm, his relationship with his wife is crumbling—a miracle happens: Murphy gets a chance to reboot his life.

Back in his teenaged body in 1991, he realizes by changing his past, he can have the future he always wanted. Everything he lost is within his reach, even his high-school sweetheart.

But what about the devoted wife he left behind? Torn between two women—two lives—he can only choose one future. Murphy must decide if getting everything he’s ever wanted is worth giving up everything he’s ever had…

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Handfield's novel about a fallen football star and second chances will resonate with readers. The author's treatment is engaging and will appeal to readers looking for a feel-good summer read." -Publisher's Weekly (Starred Review) 

"A new and welcome page in the redemption-through-football playbook... Friday Night Lights hands it off to H.G. Wells in this winningly unique tale." -KIRKUS REVIEWS

Product Details

• File Size: 345 KB
• Print Length: 268 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0985455284
• Publisher: Sky Village Press; 1.05 edition (April 12, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007TXT9XA
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #224,063 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Unexpected, touching, heartfelt April 14, 2012

By Joshua Malkin

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Touchback is a quick read... but one that lingers in a wonderful way. There is considerable humor, sadness, wisdom and feeling packed into its pages. I found myself fascinated by the simultaneous familiarity and uniqueness of its characters. The elements of magical-realism were particularly well-handled -- never overbearing, consistently grounded. I'm not a football "fan" perse, but the story elegantly persuaded me to invest in the stakes of the game when it needed to. Ultimately though, this is a tale that transcends sports -- it's about dreams, about love, and about achieving peace with oneself. I look eagerly forward to the movie!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting Storytelling For ALL April 19, 2012

By Bukcrz

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a reader, my first pick books would be romance but when I saw the movie thriller for this book I picked it up - and glad I did.
The hero is a bitter shell of what used to be a promising football superstar, with a chip on his shoulder, he spurns every kind hand in determination to make it on his own - cripple and all. He sounds like an everyday hero you can read on any book but the way the author chronicled and portrayed his gut-wrenching (I am not using the word lightly) frustration and defiant battle against what he called his curse or bad luck drew me into the book. The writing is so good that as a reader, you became the hero. You feel his anger, his inner struggle, his stubborn defiance, and the core of a man in love with his wife and children.
The last forty percent of the book is a play by play of a high school football game and the author chronicled it in everyday language to be understood by all even for a non-football fanatic like me. It brought me inside the locker room, the huddle, and in that 100 yard field.
Although the book's main plot seem focused on football, it surprisingly covers a farmer's life, destiny versus man himself, the unbreakable bond of mother and son, and small town community. The book can make you laugh, make you angry, make you cry, and make you fell in love. In short expect an unforgettable roller coaster ride when you read this book.
In the end, the book is this man's (almost forty) journey inward and finally coming out the CHAMPION that he is. Predictable end aside, the storytelling is riveting and I recommend this book to anyone, man and woman, young and old, love football or not. It's a book for everyone and a keeper.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars it's a story that will inspire all to appreciate the things we do have. April 16, 2012

By monkeys

Format:Kindle Edition

you do not need be a football fan to enjoy TouchBack.
I was invited to a special screening of the movie and was very moved. The book is even better.
In my opinion it's one of my favorite football stories, because it spoke to the human spirit
and reminds us that sometimes life isn't fair but we can choose to be happy with all that
we are blessed with.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Thanksgiving read! November 22, 2012

By Donna Gunter

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I downloaded "Touchback" as a part of Amazon's free promotion and thought it was a fitting Thanksgiving-day read, given that it was football-oriented. However, I was completely wrong on that score (pun intended). While football does a play a role in this narrative, it centers more on Scott Murphy's emotional maturing as a disabled adult when he has a second chance to re-live the most pivotal moment of his life, an opportunity that most of us would love to have. What choice would you make? Would you change the one thing at the core of your being that makes you "you?" I have to admit that the ending of the story left me quite teary-eyed and thankful for all the highs and lows in my life.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars More than just a football story. December 19, 2012

By Ironside

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

You don't have to understand or even like football to enjoy this book. It's all about life in a small town and how people play the hand life deals them. It is not smarmy or boring, but does carry a message, as any good book should.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgetable! November 30, 2012

By clima

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I read A LOT of books; three or four a week on average. Sometimes I come to Amazon and look at a book that seems interesting only to find that I've already purchased it and read it. That's not going to happen with this book. Touchback is one of only a handful of books that I've read in my life that I'm sure lessons from which will stay with me for the REST of my life.

I am a woman and not really a huge football fan(LOVE my N.E. Pats, though!)but the "growth through pain" lesson in Touchback is universal. Learning to appreciate the devastation in our lives for what it is, a major spiritual growth-spurt, often takes people years to accomplish and sadly, some never do.

I found myself reading the final pages of Touchback slightly distracted; I couldn't wait to go online and write a review for the phenomenal author (again, a first for me!) and kept thinking I'd really like to see the book made into a movie. I took the time to read the afterword though, to find that the book is already (and finally!) being made into a movie. I cannot WAIT to see it.

Kudos to Handfield, this is some amazing stuff!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down May 23, 2012

By lambmom1

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Great book! Wouldn't it be great to re-live a portion of your life, everyone fantasizes about that! This book satisfies that fantasy by showing what MIGHT happen,and that we should have faith that God will lead us through our trials and tribulations. It may not always turn out just like we want, but it will always be what's best. I can't wait to see the movie, just wish it was a nationwide release, just have to wait for the DVD!

More About the Author

Don Handfield is an American author and filmmaker. He was born in Bloomington, Indiana in 1971, raised in Maine, Indiana, Virginia and Connecticut. He attended high school in Northern Virginia where he was captain of the wrestling team and a member of the state champion gymnastics team. He has worked as a farmhand and a construction worker, and studied journalism and theater at The Ohio State University. Now a full time filmmaker and producer, he wrote and directed the feature film Touchback, starring Kurt Russell and Christine Lahti. He is currently writing and producing Slingshot for Paramount Pictures. Don lives in Los Angeles with his wife Tressa, and their two children.