My first book was about Charlie Root and the 1929 Chicago Cubs. It started with my own personal Moonlight Graham, a neighbor five doors down who only won one game in the majors, but it was with these great Cubs who made it to the World Series that year. The career of Berly “Trader” Horne, summarized in just one line of the “Baseball Encyclopedia,” was my first published newspaper story. He became the purpose of my second book, aided greatly by finding Robert Gorman, Root’s nephew, when Gorman ran for election as justice on the Ohio Supreme Court. He lost, but I won. Gorman mentioned Charlie’s daughter, Della Root Arnold.
Learn more about Trader Horne, the neighbor who inspired the story. Click here for the love story and personal details of life on and off the field, as told by Charlie Root's daughter, Della. Buy the book here. |
My second book started in April 2017 when I hit what seemed like the end of the road.
After two years of terrible attacks that mistakenly were thought to be strokes, I was knocked down to a wheelchair and bedridden. The best guess of doctors was to suppress an immune system attacking a healthy brain. But that left me with no defense for a strep infection. Suppressing the immune system nearly killed me. Leaving it alone subjected me to random bouts of on-again and off-again attacks. The "solution" was to “cause no harm” and do nothing. Our only grandchild at the time was Izzy, and I wanted to tell her my life story, of lessons learned, of seeking to change the world, and ultimately winning the wisdom of having this wonderful world change me. I wrote 100,000 words in 100 days. Wife Linda wheeled me to my desk and sometimes I only had enough strength for 15 minutes, but I got my daily 1,000-word goal done. Here's the promo for "Love, Grandpa." (Buy the ebook, paperback, or audiobook here). Find out what an award-winning investigative reporter of more than 3,000 news stories writes when confronted with what appeared to be his final assignment -- heavenly messages prompting this book. After years of digging for dirt and finding the worst in people, the author learned to see the world differently when he became a bishop for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Surrounded by faithful and extraordinary members who turned life's tests into testimony, he endured the loss of his first grandson, 40 days after birth, and resulting trials for one of his two daughters. "I sought to change the world. Instead, this wonderful world changed me. My life transformed from demolition to construction." The book offers hope, humor, and a way to view a troubled and contentious world differently. What if you were certain about life after this one? Would you seek a more meaningful life? |