Book Review: Seeing Home: The Ed Lucas Story

Katie June 26, 2015 0 Comments

Seeing Home is the true story of Ed Lucas who is an Emmy-winning baseball broadcaster – who just happens to be blind. Ed lost his sight when he was 12 years old. The Giants had just won the pennant and Ed went out to play baseball with the neighborhood kids (Dad gave him permission and Mom wasn’t home to tell him no) he got hit between the eyes with a ball and became blind. He tried to fake it and knew since he had an appointment coming up he memorized the chart at the doctors office.  But the doctor saw right through his act and Ed had a few surgeries to try and fix his sight but nothing worked.

Ed was becoming depressed over it so his mother wrote letters to major league ball players in hopes that they would come meet him to cheer him up. The Yankees told her that the players would be working in the off season so she took him to a clothing store where he met Phil Rizzuto.  Phil, or Scooter as Ed and other friends called him, gave Ed his phone number and told him to call any time. He became a bit of a mentor to Ed and when everyone was telling him that he couldn’t do things – he just kept breaking down the barriers.  He looked at his blindness from the point of view of It’s not a handicap, it’s an inconvenience.

People kept telling Ed he would never do things but he became the first person with a seeing eye dog at Seton Hall. He broke down barriers with baseball and became friends with many, many players and eventually worked his way to become a broadcaster. That didn’t come easy to him because there were a lot of people who thought that because he was blind he couldn’t do it. Well, he did. He also became the first disabled person to win custody of his children over their nondisabled mother. And I’m sure there’s plenty more I am missing.

As someone who is also disabled, I could certainly relate to Ed and not only his struggles, but his perseverance. The book is soon going to be a major motion picture and I can not wait to see it. This is a truly remarkable story and I think you will be impressed with Ed if you read it whether you are disabled or not.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review.

About the Book

Soon to be a major motion picture, Seeing Home: The Ed Lucas Story is the incredible true tale of a beloved Emmy-winning blind broadcaster who refused to let his disability prevent him from overcoming many challenging obstacles and achieving his dreams.

In 1951, when he was only twelve years old, Ed Lucas was hit between the eyes by a baseball during a sandlot game in Jersey City. He lost his sight forever. To cheer him up, his mother wrote letters to baseball superstars of the day, explaining her son’s condition. Soon Ed was invited into their clubhouses and dugouts, as the players and coaches personally made him feel at home.

Despite the warm reception he got from his heroes, Ed was told repeatedly by others that he would never be able to accomplish anything worthwhile because of his limitations. But Hall-of-Famer Phil Rizzuto became Ed’s mentor and encouraged him to pursue his passion—broadcasting. Ed then overcame hundreds of barriers, big and small, to become a pioneer—the first blind person covering baseball on a regular basis, a career he has successfully continued for six decades.

Ed may have lost his sight, but he never lost his faith, which got him through many pitfalls and dark days. When Ed’s two sons were very young, his wife walked out and left him to raise them all by himself, which he did. Six years later, Ed’s ex-wife returned and sued him for full custody, saying that a blind man shouldn’t have her kids. The judge agreed, tearing Ed’s sons away from their father’s loving home. Ed fought the heartbreaking decision with appeals all the way up to the highest level of the court system. Eventually, he prevailed, marking the very first time in US history that a disabled person was awarded custody over a non-disabled spouse.

Even in his later years, Ed is still enjoying a remarkably blessed life. In 2006, he married his second wife, Allison, at home plate in old Yankee Stadium, the only time that such a thing ever happened on that iconic spot. Yankee owner George Steinbrenner himself catered the whole affair, which was shown live on national television.

Seeing Home: The Ed Lucas Story is truly a magical read and a universally uplifting and inspirational tale for everyone, whether or not you happen to be a sports fan. Over his long and amazing life, Ed has collected hundreds of anecdotes from his personal relationships and encounters with everyone, from kings and presidents to movie stars and sports Hall-of-Famers, many of which he shares in this memoir, using his trademark humorous and engaging style, cowritten with his youngest son, Christopher.

Book Review: Here Comes The Egg

Katie June 26, 2015 0 Comments

Here comes the egg is a counting book with many hidden images. There are lots and lots of things to look for besides just reading the text. There are numbers on the pages in different languages – 12 languages to be exact. (The book can teach you to count to 12 in 12 languages!) and there are some tongue twisters included and all the answers to everything are in the back of the book – but I’d recommend that you read it through the first time – the second time start looking for things and maybe go through it a 3rd or 4th time before looking at the answer key to make sure you’ve had a chance to take it all in!

I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for this review.

About the Book

“On each page there is a clue, an object may look odd to you. With every one that you discover, a riddle soon becomes uncovered.”A fat hen, ducks, brown bears and elongated elephants star in this delightful book featuring tongue twisters, riddles and hidden images. Children will delight in the colorful illustrations while looking for items on every page, including cleverly disguised numbers.

Book Review: From The Start

Katie June 26, 2015 0 Comments

From The Start is about Kate and Colton.  Kate is a writer living in Chicago, she writes romantic movie scripts and books, but seems to be in a bit of a rut.  She ends up going home to Maple Valley, Iowa after a tornado injures her Dad and does some damage to the town where she grew up.  Her brother also comes home and brings with him his friend Colton Greene, an NFL Player forced to retire due to injury who isn’t quite sure what his next move is going to be.  Colton’s agent thinks that he should write a book about his life with a writer.  Could Kate be that writer despite her not knowing anything about football?

Colton asks Kate to write the book, and Kate reluctantly agrees.  Although there may be some chemistry between them, they are clear that they are just friends and this is just a working relationship.  But we all know how that goes!  Things seem to not really be moving along because Colton doesn’t really want to open up about his past and the accident that took both of his parents lives.  We find out that this is because he doesn’t really remember a lot of it himself.

The two end up having a lot of ups and downs in this relationship, and Colton calls the book off.  After an accident of their own, Colton runs off. Kate isn’t sure she will ever see him again and ends up back in Chicago.  But if the two are really in love with each other like they say they are – can  they find their way back to each other?

Well, I know the answer to that and you will too if you read From The Start.  This is the first book in a series an I am looking forward to reading more about the Walker family because they seem like a great family and I have completely fallen in love with them and Maple Valley!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review.

About the Book

Kate writes romance movie scripts for a living, but she’s stopped believing “true love” is real. Could a new friendship with former NFL player Colton Greene restore her faith?

Book Review: Finding Me

Katie June 26, 2015 0 Comments

Finding Me is about Kelli. When we first meet her she is just cleaning up her parents home after her father and stepmother were killed in a car accident.  She goes into her father’s office – previously off limits – and finds a bunch of photos from the 80s – which she thought were gone.  As far as Kelli knew – her mother, sister and brother were all killed in a fire and everything they had was lost as well.

But as it turned out – her family was alive and well in Tennessee and her father had faked his and her death the start a new life with her stepmother when Kelli was 1.

Kelli decides to from California and wants to stay for 1 week just to see everyone.  She ends up getting a job at the store owned by her father’s best friend and he figures out her secret. He promises to keep it and knows that if she wants to tell her family she will.

But can Kelli tell her family – people that she’s grown close with in the few months she’s been in town – the truth?

I really liked this book. It was a plot different than any I had read before and I didn’t want to put it down, I wanted to find out what Kelli would do – run away back to California or tell her mother and her sister who she really was?  Definitely recommended.

I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for this review.

About the Book

A Contemporary Drama of Family Lies
and Forgotten Loves After her father and stepmother’s accidental death, Kelli Huddleston sorts through their belongings and learns a shocking secret. Years before, her father faked his death during a boat wreck at sea–and faked Kelli’s as well. He’d run from a wife, a son, and a daughter back in Tennessee, meaning Kelli has a family she’s never known.
She’s already cashed the payout on her dad’s life insurance check and looks at it as her ticket to a new life. The lure and puzzle of digging into this hidden past is too much to resist, and she soon finds herself in Tennessee. When the trip threatens to open doors to the past better left shut, and her plans for the future are threatened, Kelli must make an agonizing choice that will change her life forever.

Book Review: Oliver and Jumpy Stories 16-18

Katie June 23, 2015 0 Comments

Oliver and Jumpy are back with another triplet of adventures. I have to say, these were probably my favorite stories of this series that I have read. They didn’t seem to be as strange or controversial as some of the others and as always, the illustrations are just wonderful! (Although him jumping from the tree with a table cloth in the second story could be cause for concern)

Story 16 Who Am I?

In Who Am I, Oliver gets hit on the head with a coconut and ends up not knowing who he is or where he is.  A bit like “are you my mother” Oliver wanders around trying to figure out who he is! In the end, once he finds Jumpy, his memory comes back to him.

Story 17 Up the Tree

Oliver finds a really tall tree and decides to climb it to explore. He meets a bunch of creatures and characters and at the top of the tree finds a beautiful rainbow.  Once he gets to the top, he decides to come down using a table cloth as a parachute instead of climbing all the way down.

Story 18 Moon Crystal

The president of the country where Oliver lives tells Oliver that they need more moon crystals at the hospital to make the sick people well again.  Oliver, Jumpy and Joey were chosen to go to meet the Man in the Moon and pick up some crystals. A giant throws their space capsule to the moon and they land and meet aliens. After they collected the crystals, the aliens catapulted them back to earth. They were heroes!

If you’re interested in this series, they are often on Amazon.com for free so be sure to check them out!

I received a free e-copy in order to write this review I was not otherwise compensated.