The Pivotal Year

Reason #1 to pre-order The Promise of Jesse Woods

I think we all have pivotal years in life—when internal and external forces collide to shape us. For me, 1972 was pivotal because that was the year I became a full-fledged Cincinnati Reds fan.

And what a year it was. The Big Red Machine was rolling down the track and I was on-board for every game, listening on my transistor radio to Al Michaels and Joe Nuxhall.

Fast-forward 12 years and I'm in Chicago rooting for the Cubs. Internal and external forces had moved me to the city from the country—and the playoffs that year brought a heaping helping of pain.

The Promise of Jesse Woods looks at these pivotal moments through the lens of the life of Matt Plumley—a Pirates fan transplanted in a little West Virginia town where the Reds are exalted.

Matt falls in love for the first time in that pivotal year and returns 12 years later to make sense of all the promises, hopes, and dreams.

I hope this is the one you take to the beach this summer.

---

Find out more about The Promise of Jesse Woods