Feature Book of the Week #3 Unstoppable by Tim Green

Feature Book of the Week

Unstoppable

by 

Tim Green

Inspired by interviews with real-life cancer survivors and insider sports experience, this unforgettable New York Times bestseller shows a brave boy who learns what it truly means to be unstoppable. As National Ambassador for Young People's Literature emeritus Jon Scieszka said, Unstoppable is "absolutely heroic, and something every guy should read."

If anyone understands the phrase "tough luck," it's Harrison. As a foster kid in a cruel home, he knows his dream of one day playing in the NFL is a longshot.

Then Harrison is brought into a new home with kind, loving parents—his new dad is even a football coach. Harrison's big build and his incredible determination quickly make him a star running back on the junior high school team. On the field, he's practically unstoppable. But Harrison's good luck can't last forever. When a routine sports injury leads to a devastating diagnosis, it will take every ounce of Harrison's determination not to give up for good.

A Guest Post From Author Tim Green

            As the author of many sports-based novels for early teen readers, my football stories are populated with NFL players, some real, some fictional. Part of the fun with these characters is that they have the mythical proportions of superheroes. We know NFL players are super strong, super fast, and super tough.

            Every NFL player has his own story about how tough he is. Mine was when I separated my collar bone from my sternum in a game against the 49ers. The doctors told me I wouldn’t be able to keep playing. The bone literally bulged out of my chest creating a pup tent of skin. I begged for a Novocain shot to numb the pain so I could play. Even though those kind of shots were given rather freely, they refused to give me one because the injection would have to be too close to my heart and lungs and they were worried I might actually die from such a shot.

            Well, I played anyway, without the shot. Every step I took sent shivers of pain through my chest. Getting hit in a football game was a fireworks display of agony.

            I thought I was pretty tough, doing this. But then, seven years ago, my wife was diagnosed with cancer. What I saw her go through, the mental, emotional, and physical pain in her fight to overcome that disease let me know that I wasn’t the toughest person in our house. She was. I was so impressed by her amazing determination and toughness that I wanted to write a story about it, about a cancer survivor.

            Through some friends I then met a man named Jeff Keith. In real life, when Jeff was a young athlete, he battled cancer and won, but the disease took his leg. Jeff had been an amazing athlete and almost everyone knew that his sports career was over. Not Jeff. He fought back and with the help of a prosthetic leg became a division one lacrosse player at Boston College. My book, Unstoppable, is based on Jeff’s amazing, heartwarming, gut-wrenching, and ultimately inspiring true story. I think will bring tears to every reader’s eyes. Not just tears for what he lost, but tears of joy for what he found.

            I hope you enjoy reading Unstoppable as much as I enjoyed writing it, and I hope most of all that you take a page out of Jeff Keith’s playbook and become unstoppable yourself, in everything you do.

About the Author

After studying writing at Syracuse University where he was an All American football player, Tim was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons where he was a top defensive player for eight years.
While Tim played in the NFL, he also studied law and began his writing career. By the time he retired from football in 1994, Tim had already published his first book and become a lawyer. In addition to those two jobs, he began working as a television broadcaster for FOX NFL Sunday and other shows, including Battlebots, Good Morning America, Court TV, A Current Affair, and most recently, Find My Family.
After writing more than a dozen books for adults, Tim began writing a series of novels for young readers set in a world of sports taken from his own experiences as an athlete and a coach. In the meantime, Tim has visited over 800 schools and spoken to more than 400,000 students across the United States about the importance of education and character, in addition to the joys and benefits of reading!
Tim serves on the board of the Golisano Children’s Hospital in Syracuse, NY, as well as the National Writing Project. He lives with his wife, Illyssa, their five kids, and two dogs in Upstate New York. When Tim isn’t writing, he enjoys boating, fishing, hunting, reading, and spending time with his family and friends.
- See more at: http://timgreenbooks.com/meet-tim/about/#sthash.QYeFC0qp.dpuf

After studying writing at Syracuse University where he was an All American football player, Tim was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons where he was a top defensive player for eight years. - See more at: http://timgreenbooks.com/meet-tim/about/#sthash.QYeFC0qp.dpuf

 After studying writing at Syracuse University where he was an all American football player, Tim was drafted in the first round of the NFL by the Atlanta Falcons where he was a top defensive player for eight years.

While Tim played in the NFL, her studied law and began his writing career. By the time he retired from his football career in 1994, Tim had already published his first book and became a lawyer. In addition to those jobs, he also began working as a  broadcast journalist for Fox NFL  Sunday, and other shows including Battlebots, Good Morning America, Court TV, A Current Affair, and most recently, Find My Family.

After writing more than a dozen books for adults, Tim began writing a series of books for young adult readers set in the world of sports taken from his own experiences as an athlete, and coach.  In the meantime, Tim has visited over 800 schools and spoken to over 400,000 students across the United States about the importance of  education and character, in addition to the joys and benefits of reading! 

 Tim Green's  bio obtained from his website.