2nd and 16

by Brian Crawford

Ryan Hampton, married father of two, goes to bed forty years old in his home in Versailles Kentucky and wakes up sixteen again in his parents house in Rome Kentucky, in the year 2000. He must be dreaming; but as the hours turn into days the permanence of his situation becomes apparent. His lost family ever-present in his mind, Ryan forces himself to reprise his role of high school junior. Having taught high school math for 16 years, Ryan's return to student status, surrounded by peers less than half his age, proves to be a very reflective experience. The only person he entrusts with his secret is his reverend, Mike Patterson. Together they work to find purpose in Ryan's dilemma. From saving the lives of his high school peers to averting larger scale tragedies, Ryan's attempts to rewrite history provide uplifting successes and heartbreaking failures. Ryan's primary goal is to re-win the heart of his wife, Claire. Since he did not meet her until his latter college years, he dares to pass the time by pursuing new experiences that stem from his newfound success as a high school quarterback, where he finds that his age procured wisdom proves invaluable. These pursuits ultimately jeopardize his long term plans, forcing him to choose between his present and his future.

395 pages, Paperback

Published November 22, 2022

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t say that I’ve read many love stories, but this is the best one I’ve read. It’s a hopeful journey of someone who gets a second chance at life and wrestles with the implications of the choices made. There’s plenty of joy in the story telling, some obvious affection for the characters and the inspiration from which they’re drawn, but there’s a bittersweetness to the whole of the ordeal that carries throughout the story. I know after reading this I’ll hug my kids a little longer than normal in the morning and I’ll be more thankful for their early wake up call than I usually am. There’s a lot of soul in this book