Bleachers

High school all-American Neely Crenshaw was probably the best quarterback ever to play for the legendary Messina Spartans. For Neely Crenshaw, a man who must finally forgive his coach – and himself – before he can get on with his life, the stakes are especially high.. Fifteen years have gone by since those glory days, and Neely has come home to Messina to bury Coach Eddie Rake, the man who molded the Spartans into an unbeatable football dynasty.Now, as Coach Rake’s “boys” sit in the bleachers waiting for the dimming field lights to signal his passing, they replay the old games, relive the old glories, and try to decide once and for all whether they love Eddie Rake – or hate him

Physically a narrow book, Bleachers is a modest fiction in many respects. Neely has returned home for the first time in years to join a nightly vigil for Rake at the Messina stadium. For Messina and for Neely, the homecoming offers the prospect of building a life after Rake. One of the most victorious coaches in high school football history, Rake is a man both loved and feared by his players and by a town that relishes his 13 state titles. Having wandered through life with little focus since his college days, he struggles to reconcile his conflicted feelings towards his former coac

Took me backwayyy back. Amazon Customer For those of us who were athletes "back in the day," and our "crowning athletic achievements may have been by the time we were 17/18 years old, I found the author's reminiscences right on target!! The love/hate relationship with the coach(es), the pain of summer workouts, the thrill of winning the games, and the pain of losing, too. Yet, we all grow up. We all grow old. What happened 25 years ago (in this case, in my case more like 45) doesn't really much matter now. What's important is the relationships we had then, and still have, and our newer relationships. The pain of "lost/unfulfilled dreams" a. Ali Julia said It made me feel good when I finished it. You don't have to be a sports fan to enjoy this book. This books about life, growing old, and thinking about what is important in our lives. A thoughtful and nostalgic John Grisham continues to be a great story teller.We see the story through the eyes of Neely Crenshaw, an All-American quarterback, who was brought back to his old town by the death of his coach Eddie Rake. Through his eyes we relive the highs and lows of Eddie Rake's live. We learn that even great people can make mistakes, we learn how to forgive, and how to ask for forgiveness.It is the kind of story that touches you and makes you fe. Nancy B said I WAS LEFT UNFULFILLED AT THE END. It was interesting to get inside the heads of these aging ball players. I guess the optimist in me wanted more to the end of the story. Still a good book that I am glad I took the time to read.