Sherman - The Ice Bucket Challenge

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

CASEY SHERMAN is an award-winning journalist and the New York Times best-selling author of The Finest Hours (now a major motion picture); Boston Strong: A Citys Triumph over Tragedy, coauthored by Dave Wedge (an inspiration for the major motion picture Patriots Day); Animal; A Rose for Mary; Bad Blood; Black Irish; and Black Dragon. He is also a contributing writer for Esquire and Boston magazine and an international correspondent for FOX News. He is the cofounder of Whydah Productions and lives in Massachusetts. Follow him on Twitter @CaseySherman123 and on Facebook at Facebook.com/casey.sherman.

Sherman has appeared on hundreds of national and international television and radio programs and is a sought-after national speaker. He is represented by the APB Speakers Bureau and Gotham Group, Beverly Hills, California.

DAVE WEDGE is a best-selling author and writer based in Boston. A Boston College graduate, he writes for VICE and was an award-winning investigative reporter at the Boston Herald for fourteen years. He has also written for Esquire, Newsweek, and DigBoston, among other outlets. His first book, Boston Strong: A Citys Triumph over Tragedy, about the 2013 Boston Marathon attacks and written with New York Times best-selling author Casey Sherman, was an inspiration for the 2016 film Patriots Day, starring Mark Wahlberg and directed by Peter Berg. He is also a partner in Whydah Productions and lives in Milton, Massachusetts, with his wife, Boston Herald columnist Jessica Heslam, and their children, Danielle and Jackson. Dave is represented by Gotham Group, Beverly Hills, California, and ZSH Literary in New York City. Follow him on Twitter @DaveWedge.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

CASEY SHERMAN In January 2016 Boston-based sports-marketing executives Cleon Daskalakis and Christa Jones sat down to discuss their client and friend Nancy Frates and her familys dream of having a book written to chronicle their journey. Christa suggested me for this important literary endeavor, and I received a call soon after. At first, I resisted the challenge. My life was a whirlwind at the time, as Walt Disney Pictures was bringing my best-selling book The Finest Hours to the big screen, and I was crisscrossing the country, attending movie screenings and red-carpet premieres. I told them that I simply did not have the time needed to devote to the project. Daskalakis and Jones persisted and asked me to meet the Frates family at their Beverly home.

At worst, youll meet some wonderful people, Daskalakis said. At best, youll discover your next book project.

The only problem with that, I told him, was that I had just signed a deal for my next book project and would soon enter the research phase before writing. How could I pull this off? The answer was just a phone call away. Journalist Dave Wedge, my writing partner for our 2015 book, Boston Strong: A Citys Triumph over Tragedy, had been eager to work on another project. Dave had read about the Frates family, as had I, and although we admired them greatly, we did not know whether their story could sustain a full narrative needed for a book like this. On a Sunday morning in February 2016, we drove together from our homes just south of Boston to the town of Beverly. We were interested in meeting them but remained noncommittal about moving ahead. As a writer of eight books, I usually know within five minutes of meeting someone whether or not there is enough compelling material for a book. When we were invited into the Frateses home and met Nancy, John, Julie, Lucy, Andrew, and, most important, Pete, I knew in my heart within two minutes that we had to write this book. After you read Challenge, I know you will feel the same. Their story is about lovethe love of a family committed to one another and committed to changing the world for good. Our initial meetings evolved into long interviews. Pete listened to each question and responded through his eye movementreading scan. He was always honest in his responses and corrected his family when their recollections had faded with time. Pete was the sharpest person in the room, always.

The family allowed us into their tight-knit world, and we were given a window into their toughest moments and greatest triumphs. For this, we cannot thank the Frates family enough. They will continue to inspire us each and every day. We also give thanks to the circles of Pete, that vast network of close friends and supporters who provided us with story after story of how Pete has changed their lives for the better. I would like to thank Cleon Daskalakis and Christa Jones for thinking of me. I would also like to thank Jennifer Berryman of the University of Massachusetts Medical School for connecting me with Chancellor Michael F. Collins, MD, and John Landers, PhD. These dedicated healers are the reason that ALS will one day be eradicated from this earth. Thanks go to Brian Frederick of the ALS Association for his time and insight. I would like to thank Dave Wedge, my writing partner and brother, for taking another emotional journey with me. We both shed tears of sadness for Petes struggles and tears of joy for his personal victories. Thanks go to our Whydah Productions partner, Ted Collins; and to our film partner, Alison Greenspan of DiNovi Pictures. Thanks also go to our Hollywood reps, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Tony Gill, and Shari Smiley of Gotham Group, for believing in this project. I also thank my own familydaughters Isabella and Mia; their wonderful mom, Laura; my mother, Diane Dodd; my brother, Todd F. Sherman; and my uncle, Jim Sherman. Thank you all for your tremendous love and support. Most of all, I would like to thank Pete Frates for showing us and the world what strength and courage truly look like.

January 2017

DAVE WEDGE I would like to thank the entire Frates family for entrusting us to share Petes story with the world. You inspired us every step of the way, and we continue to be amazed by your grace, passion, and love. Id also like to thank the following people, in no particular order, for their assistance, cooperation, kindness, compassion, and inspiration in helping us tell this story: Tommy Haugh, Coach Pete Hughes, Coach Mike Gambino, Ryne Reynoso, Henry Pynchon, Carly Nardella, Pat Harrington, Ryan Tracy, Dylan Cox, Mike Pitt, Jack Dunn, Ed Hayward and the entire Boston College community, Scott Matzka, Pat Quinn and family, Steve Gleason, Meghan Hornblower, and Cleon Daskalakis. It has been a great privilege to tell this story, and it would not have been possible without the incredible support from my amazing wife, Jessica; Danielle and Jackson, the loves of my life; my dad, Roger; sisters Allyson and Nancy and the entire extended Wedge, Cornelius, and Heslam families; and all my friends and family from Brockton and Boston College. Id also like to thank my editors and all my current and former colleagues at VICE; my reps at the Gotham Group and ZSH Literary; Alison Greenspan at DiNovi Pictures for her passion for this project; and all the researchers, families, and ALS warriors out there fighting this disease.

January 2017

THE FRATES FAMILY We would like to thank Team Frate Train and the thousands of people who follow, support, and donate over and over again to Pete and our family. We would also like to thank our nuclear family and core group of friends, who unconditionally love and help us to provide as near normal a life as possible for us. We also thank our nurses and caregivers. They are a true gift from above who faithfully and lovingly devote their expertise and energies to Pete. We give our heartfelt thanks to ALS doctors, researchers, and clinicians. This amazing group is dedicated to solving the worst terminal disease, working tirelessly against insurmountable odds. It takes a very special person to go to work every day, knowing the batting average is .000 against ALS. We thank the city of Beverly, Massachusetts. You are the epicenter of love and support and exemplify an action city of helpers and doers. We also thank our St. Johns Prep family. The spirituality and grace you have instilled in us have helped us shine a light on this disease to the world. We thank Boston College baseball and Head Coach Mike Gambino. From day one of the diagnosis to appointing Pete as director of baseball operations, you have done so much for our family. We thank Bostons professional sports teams for contributing tickets and game experiences to our events and accommodating Pete and his posse, whatever his needs are. We thank the MLB, commissioners Bud Selig and Rob Manfred, and executives Pat Courtney and Mike Teevan for embracing our cause and showing us that you own Lou Gehrigs disease. We thank the NCAA and President Mark Emmert for honoring Pete with the highest award a college athlete can achieve. We thank the Boston Red Sox for fulfilling the dream of this product of Massachusetts by signing Pete to a lifetime contract before a packed Opening Day crowd. We thank Steve Gleason, who demonstrates so beautifully how to live with ALS, for immediately accepting and mentoring Pete. And, finally, we thank Pat Quinn for passing along the simple act of dumping ice water over ones head for a cause and tagging Pete with one of his challenges, setting in motion the largest viral sensation in historythe ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.