Pitching for Sanity

by Mike Reuther

Every small town has its eccentrics, its oddballs ... ... in Pearisville, it's Bill Barrister. He throws a baseball against a haystack in his back yard every day ... just to keep from going crazy. Bill is a military veteran, a drunkard, a nervous wreck, living out his days in his boyhood home. An invitation to take a cross-country road trip with Godfrey, a high-spirited, hard-drinking, fun-loving buddy, might be just what he needs to shake off the anxiety, the panic-filled days of his dreary existence. But is leaving the comfort, the familiarity of his hometown, a good idea, especially with a nutcase like Godfrey? What misadventures await the two? This humorous, engaging story from baseball novelist Mike Reuther is the author at his best. Every small town has its eccentrics, its oddballs ... ... in Pearisville, it's Bill Barrister. He throws a baseball against a haystack in his back yard every day ... just to keep from going crazy. Bill is a military veteran, a drunkard, a nervous wreck, living out his days in his boyhood home. An invitation to take a cross-country road trip with Godfrey, a high-spirited, hard-drinking, fun-loving buddy, might be just what he needs to shake off the anxiety, the panic-filled days of his dreary existence. But is leaving the comfort, the familiarity of his hometown, a good idea, especially with a nutcase like Godfrey? What misadventures await the two? This humorous, engaging story from baseball novelist Mike Reuther is the author at his best.

Genres: Sports, Baseball, Fiction

116 pages, Paperback

Published April 9, 2023

About the author

Mike Reuther uses his fervid imagination to create page-turning novels filled with interesting characters, many of them searching for happiness and their place in the world. His books include the acclaimed "Baseball Dreams, Fishing Magic" and the Amazon best-selling baseball novel, "Nothing Down." He's also the author of books that help writers realize their writing dreams, among them, "Write the Darn Book" and "How to Write a Book Without Going Crazy." A longtime journalist and freelance writer, he devotes the warmer months of the year to baseball and fly fishing, two of his passions that have served as the backdrop for his books. A seeker of truth but an all-around fun guy, he lives with his wife and kids near Williamsport, Pa.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some people think life is fantastic. Other people believe that life utterly stinks. The rest … well, life just sort of “is”, and you try to make the best out of it and whatever it throws at you.

In “Pitching for Sanity”, author Mike Reuther tells the tale of Bill Barrister. Bill fits the last category above, except that throwing is his defense against what life feeds him … without baseball – more specifically, without **a** baseball to throw, life would stink. Except … one way to get out of his humdrum existence is to accept his friend Godfrey's invitation to head out on a road trip. A drive from Pennsylvania to California is certainly one way to change up the “ordinary”. Maybe even add in an exotic dancer who needs to get out of town

Reuther shows how two friends can bring each other out of their own shells – but sometimes get on each other's nerves in the process. Their trip was interspersed with encounters with several interesting characters, beginning with Godfrey's friend, the dancer Monica. All of them enhanced their perspectives on life and moved our narrative along.

In the end (not exactly a spoiler), the lesson I took from this book is that taking a look at life temporarily from a different perspective can end up changing the way you look upon your future, as well. (Which may or may not be the message Mr. Reuther was trying to send – the nice thing about art of any kind is that the creator's themes and the viewers interpretations may not be the same, but can both be equally valid.)

RATING: Four Stars

[Harold Kasselman · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Pitching for Sanity, Mike Reuther returns to a familiar theme in his books, malaise and small town life. This time it's an anxiety ridden Air Force retiree whose obsessive thoughts and panic attacks have made life almost unmanageable for Bill Barrister. He has become the blue collar small town "character" who is often seen by neighbors throwing baseballs against a backstop of hay. His wife has left him because of his anxiety, and he lives on his Air force pension alternating between drinking heavily or abstention. But alcohol, and even more so his baseball ritual, helps as a coping mechanism.
Then he fights off his fears and decides to join his carefree friend from youth on a rode trip to no where in particular-just cross country. While hating it at times, but also enjoying the liberation, Bill must make choices; either retreat into his obsessive rituals as a safe heaven, or bust out of his bubble and enjoy life. Maybe, just maybe the guilt and anxiety of his past can be overcome and life can begin anew at age forty three.

[Timothy Jernigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story that looks into the mind and life of a man who is struggling with his own anxieties and fears. It takes a road trip for him to start to find some closure. Well written and compelling. The only regret I have about this book is it left me hanging. Bill was just starting to find some closure. I think there should be a series where Bills story is completed. Good book, just want the rest of the story.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story of life lived, life missed and life ahead. When Bill, a man with anxiety issues, is asked by an old friend to take a road trip, he reluctantly goes and things he never expected happen. I like the character of Bill and the baseball references, that relate to Bill's past and missed opportunities. This is an interesting, well written story that will take readers on a journey into a man's life.

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

It isn’t often that a book will combine the themes of baseball and a mental health condition but this short novel by Mike Reuther does just that. While there isn’t a lot of baseball in the story, it does play a key role as pitching baseballs is how the main character, Bill Barrister, deals with his anxiety. The condition has affected Bill enough that it ended his marriage and has affected his ability to work or do many other simple things that most people do.

A former pitching phenom whose tryout with a major-league team was a disaster, Bill was a career Air Force man where a colleague’s suicide left him shattered. That is one of the many events that led to his anxiety and each one is addressed in the story with a complete picture – a trait that illustrates the fine writing done by Reuther throughout the book.

Bill ends up leaving his Pennsylvania hometown to go on a road trip to California with his friend Godfrey. There are many twists in this journey which leads them to Texas where Bill learns a lot about his friend, a woman from their hometown whose son saw Bill throwing the baseballs, and also himself and how he can cope with his anxiety in other methods. The ending of the story was a bit surprising to me, but it is open enough so that the reader can draw his or her own conclusions. That fits the rest of the book – detailed enough to illustrate the situation, but open enough for the reader to fill in the blanks. A good quick read for those who like stories of self-discovery.

I wish to thank Mr. Reuther for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little story. In was shorter than I expected but I still enjoyed reading it. Puts life in perspective!

**I won this book on Goodreads in exchange for my honest opinion**