LibraryThing.com, a wonderful bookish website, not only allows members to maintain inventories of their personal libraries, it also gives away books! Free books! All that is asked in return is a review, though it isn’t required. (It just improves one’s chances of snagging future books.)
The first book Library Thing sent me was one I faced with some trepidation: Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back by Josh Hamilton and Tim Keown.
Josh Hamilton was the number one draft pick in 1999, selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Josh was a natural on the ball fied and nice young man. He had a close, supportive relationship with his parents. And he threw it all away.
It started with tattos and led to crack. Josh turned into an unrecognizable addict who tried everyone’s patience to the limits and beyond. Everyone but one, who provided him the time and space to find his way back through the Grace of God.
Josh Hamilton is not an introspective person, so a reader shouldn’t expect to find deep thoughts or painful soul searching. This volume pales in comparison to Bob Welch’s heart-wrenching, deeply personal “Five O’Clock Comes Early.” Josh delves only so deep in dealing with his addictions, but he delves only so deep in life, so the story he shares is an honest one. The reader will see this young man up front about who he is and what he has done.
It is a book about recovery through faith published by a Christian company which at first deterred me from reading it, thankfully Josh is low keyed about his faith and even addresses this issue.
There were times when I wanted more, more insight, more questioning, more expounding, yet none of those would have been true to the man who lived this story. It was a story that captured my attention and held my interest all the way through.
Josh Hamilton’s stats from www.baseball-reference.com.