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A Year of Playing Catch is a gem like baseball itselfeveryday, interesting, thoughtful, and funny. It is an inside the book home run.
ROBERT BENSON, AUTHOR OF TWO DOZEN BOOKS, INCLUDING THE GAME: ONE MAN, NINE INNINGS, A LOVE AFFAIR WITH BASEBALL
Playing catch with my dad when I was a kid is one of my earliest memories. Those backyard catch sessions were a big part of my falling in love with the game of baseball, because of how they helped me connect with my dad. This book does a great job telling how a simple game of catch can help you connect with a loved one, make a new friend, or simply have fun.
CURTIS PRIDE, ELEVEN-YEAR MAJOR LEAGUE VETERAN; MANAGER, LOUISVILLE SLUGGER WARRIORS
The beautiful austerity and challenging complexity of a simple game of catch are gloriously captured in Ethan Bryans book. Each throwing partner during the course of a single year has a story to tell, and Bryan lovingly captures the essences of baseball and human connection in these brief but powerful vignettes.
PERRY BARBER, UMPIRE, JEOPARDY! CHAMPION, AND MUSICIAN
Ethans whimsical, fun-loving journey, told beautifully in this book, combined with his take on life and relationships, is a breath of fresh air. It also took me on my own unexpected journey of self-reflection that inspired me to once again chase my dreams, to make room for play, and to prioritize listening to people with experiences much different from my own. Grab this book and grab your glove. You wont regret it.
NATHAN RUECKERT, ARTIST AND FOUNDER, THE BASEBALL SEAMS CO.
In a world where genuine conversation feels like a lost art, this book shows us that a single commonality like baseball can create just thatconversations that open the floodgates to the heart of the human experience. Through the simple acts of playing catch and telling stories, Bryan connects unlikely co-stars in a tale of playful revelation, taking readers along for the summer tour of a lifetime.
TARA WELLMAN, SPORT REPORTER AND BASEBALL PODCASTER
It takes a special person to capture the beauty and romanticism in the game of baseball. Ethan Bryan delivers the perfect pitch with this book. The genuine love that Bryan shows throughout his story allows readers a peek into the lives of those who eat, sleep, and breathe baseball.
CHELSEA BROOKE LADD, FOUNDER, DUGOUT DISH
This is a beautiful look at baseball and life. Youll love Ethan Bryans exceptional storytelling.
JASON ROMANO, AUTHOR, THE UNIFORM OF LEADERSHIP; HOST, SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST
Wanna play catch?! Ahh, music to my ears. Reading this book took me back through a childhood of asking that question and especially the disappointment and the excitement of the answers. For the first time in decades, I thought about my childhood friend Billy, who always said yes. The disappointment when dad didnt have time to say yes was just as bitter when I read about Bryan and his dad. In Bryans description of that new glove, I smiled at the memory of buying my first glove. Bryans love and appreciation for baseball comes through on every page, but the real gift to readers is how he allows us to use his journey to retrace our own. What a gift!
DR. KAT D. WILLIAMS, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL WOMENS BASEBALL CENTER; AUTHOR, ISABEL LEFTY ALVAREZ: THE IMPROBABLE LIFE OF A CUBAN AMERICAN BASEBALL STAR
Much has been made in literary circles about the many good books that tell about the boys of summer and the smell of the grass and the crack of the bat. But nobody has told a story like this, a story of hope and whimsy and joy and the determination to play catch. To grab a glove, to have a catch, to hear that simple pop-pop-pop and enter some extraordinary space of true fellowship. Ethan Bryan is a wonderful writer, a clear storyteller, and he weaves in more fascinating sports history than you could imagine as he narrates this year-long memoir showing the redemptive power of play. This is a remarkable book for sports fans or anyone who has longed to explore her own field of dreams.
BYRON BORGER, HEARTS AND MINDS BOOKSTORE
ZONDERVAN BOOKS
A Year of Playing Catch
Copyright 2020 by Ethan D. Bryan
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ISBN 978-0-310-36034-6 (audio)
Epub Edition July 2020 9780310360315
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bryan, Ethan D., 1974 author.
Title: A year of playing catch : what a simple daily experiment taught me about life / Ethan D. Bryan.
Description: Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: The tedium of daily stress leads us to play less and connect less than we long forand our souls pay for it. Prolific author Ethan Bryan shares stories from a one-year experiment of playing catch every day and the inspiring lessons he learned about the sacredness of play, finding connections, and being fully present to the human experience Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020021853 (print) | LCCN 2020021854 (ebook) | ISBN 9780310360308 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9780310360315 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: BaseballPsychological aspects. | BaseballSocial aspectsUnited States. | PlayPsychological aspects.
Classification: LCC GV867.6 .B79 2020 (print) | LCC GV867.6 (ebook) | DDC 796.35701dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020021853
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020021854
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Published in association with the literary agency of Mark Oestreicher.
Cover design: Curt Diepenhorst
Cover photography: sirtravelalot / Shutterstock; Aaron Foster / GettyImages
Author photo: Inner Images Photography
Interior design: Phoebe Wetherbee
Printed in the United States of America
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To everyone who when asked, Wanna