Playing Hurt: My Journey from Despair to Hope
(eAudiobook)

Grouping Information

Book Cover Information

Hoopla Extract Information

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    [year] => 2017
    [artist] => John Saunders
    [fiction] => 
    [coverImageUrl] => https://cover.hoopladigital.com/hbg_9781478919957_270.jpeg
    [titleId] => 16888438
    [isbn] => 9781478919957
    [abridged] => 
    [language] => ENGLISH
    [profanity] => 
    [title] => Playing Hurt
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    [duration] => 8h 15m 0s
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    [price] => 2.99
    [id] => 16888438
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    [synopsis] => For the first time ever, the popular late host of ESPN's The Sports Reporters and ABC's college football openly discusses a lifelong battle with depression.

 During his three decades on ESPN and ABC, John Saunders became one of the nation's most respected and beloved sportscasters. In this moving, jarring, and ultimately inspiring memoir, Saunders discusses his troubled childhood, the traumatic brain injury he suffered in 2011, and the severe depression that nearly cost him his life. As Saunders writes, 

 Playing Hurt is not an autobiography of a sports celebrity but a memoir of a man facing his own mental illness, and emerging better off for the effort. I will take you into the heart of my struggle with depression, including insights into some of its causes, its consequences, and its treatments.

 I invite you behind the facade of my apparently "perfect" life as a sportscaster, with a wonderful wife and two healthy, happy adult daughters. I have a lot to be thankful for, and I am truly grateful. But none of these things can protect me or anyone else from the disease of depression and its potentially lethal effects.

 Mine is a rare story: that of a black man in the sports industry openly grappling with depression. I will share the good, the bad, and the ugly, including the lengths I've gone to to conceal my private life from the public.

 So why write a book? Because I want to end the pain and heartache that comes from leading a double life. I also want to reach out to the millions of people, especially men, who think they're alone and can't ask for help. 

John Saunders died suddenly on August 10, 2016, from an enlarged heart, diabetes, and other complications. This book is his ultimate act of generosity to help those who suffer from mental illness, and those who love them.

 John Saunders was a legendary ESPN and ABC sports broadcaster, known to millions of Americans as the face of college football and the arbiter of thoughtful sports journalism on ESPN's The Sports Reporters. Saunders passed away on August 10th, 2016. 

 Website: http://espnmediazone.com/us/bios/saunders_john/ 

 Twitter: @johnreporters 

John U. Bacon is the New York Times bestselling author of, among other titles, Three and Out, Fourth and Long, and Endzone.

 Website: http://www.johnubacon.com/ 

 Twitter: @johnubacon "A story that merits both sympathy and attention."-Kirkus Reviews "An inspiring call to action about mental illness." 

-Sports Illustrated "For sports fans and anyone who has struggled with depression." 

-Library Journal "The book...isn't a puffy portrait of the long-time fixture on ABC's college football coverage and 'The Sports Reporters'-though it's true Saunders was one of the most-liked sportscasters on ESPN through his career. This book explores Saunders' off-camera struggles, which included the events surrounding his life-long battle with depression...Readers will learn so many things about Saunders they would have never expected to hear-and they will also gain a better understanding of the day-to-day lives of people with depression. Saunders proves it's not what you think."

-Sporting News "In this book, Saunders gives an astoundingly honest account of his lifelong struggle with depression...Playing Hurt makes it clear that depression doesn't care who you are.  It doesn't care about your race, gender, age, family background, professional success, or anything else like that.  This book also does an amazing job of saying to readers who suffer from this illness, "You are not alone," which is a message that can never be stated often enough...The honesty of this book, especially for such a public figure (who assumed he'd be alive when it was eventually published), is breathtaking...Playing Hurt is a gripping story, it is an emotional story, and above all else, it is an important story.  It is not hyperbole to say that this book will save lives.  It is a must-read."

-Clearing Out the Clutter "[A] movi
    [url] => https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/16888438
    [pa] => 
    [subtitle] => My Journey from Despair to Hope
    [publisher] => Hachette Audio
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