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Touchback
** Now a major motion picture **
What would you do if you got a second chance?
When Scott Murphy scored the winning touchdown in the 1991 state championship game, it should have launched a golden future-the full scholarship to Ohio State, the million-dollar signing bonus, marriage to the beauty queen, and NFL glory.
Instead, it all ended with a sickening pop as his leg shattered in four places. The next twenty years would be a study in Murphy's Law - whatever could go wrong did. Just when things seem at their worst - he's losing his farm, his relationship with his wife is crumbling-a miracle Murphy gets a chance to reboot his life.
Back in his teenaged body in 1991, he realizes by changing his past, he can have the future he always wanted. Everything he lost is within his reach, even his high-school sweetheart.
But what about the devoted wife he left behind? Torn between two women-two lives-he can only choose one future. Murphy must decide if getting everything he's ever wanted is worth giving up everything he's ever had…
What would you do if you got a second chance?
When Scott Murphy scored the winning touchdown in the 1991 state championship game, it should have launched a golden future-the full scholarship to Ohio State, the million-dollar signing bonus, marriage to the beauty queen, and NFL glory.
Instead, it all ended with a sickening pop as his leg shattered in four places. The next twenty years would be a study in Murphy's Law - whatever could go wrong did. Just when things seem at their worst - he's losing his farm, his relationship with his wife is crumbling-a miracle Murphy gets a chance to reboot his life.
Back in his teenaged body in 1991, he realizes by changing his past, he can have the future he always wanted. Everything he lost is within his reach, even his high-school sweetheart.
But what about the devoted wife he left behind? Torn between two women-two lives-he can only choose one future. Murphy must decide if getting everything he's ever wanted is worth giving up everything he's ever had…
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First published April 12, 2012
14 people are currently reading
325 people want to read
About the author
Don Handfield
34 books11 followersDon Handfield is an American writer, director and producer. He is the co-creator of Knightfall on History Channel, producer of The Founder starring Michael Keaton and the writer/director of Touchback, starring Kurt Russell and Christine Lahti, which is based on his novel of the same name.
He is also a published author and essayist with a degree in Journalism and Theatre from The Ohio State University. Don lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Tressa, and his children, Robinson and Deacon.
He is also a published author and essayist with a degree in Journalism and Theatre from The Ohio State University. Don lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Tressa, and his children, Robinson and Deacon.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
January 8, 2013
As a reader, my first pick books would be romance but when I saw the movie thriller for this book I picked it up - and glad I did.
The hero is a bitter shell of what used to be a promising football superstar, with a chip on his shoulder, he spurns every kind hand in determination to make it on his own - cripple and all. He sounds like an everyday hero you can read on any book but the way the author chronicled and portrayed his gut-wrenching (I am not using the word lightly) frustration and defiant battle against what he called his curse or bad luck drew me into the book. The writing is so good that as a reader, you became the hero. You feel his anger, his inner struggle, his stubborn defiance, and the core of a man in love with his wife and children.
The last forty percent of the book is a play by play of a high school football game and the author chronicled it in everyday language to be understood by all even for a non-football fanatic like me. It brought me inside the locker room, the huddle, and in that 100 yard field.
Although the book's main plot seem focused on football, it surprisingly covers a farmer's life, destiny versus man himself, the unbreakable bond of mother and son, and small town community. The book can make you laugh, make you angry, make you cry, and make feel in love. In short expect an unforgettable roller coaster ride when you read this book.
In the end, the book is this man's (almost forty) journey inward and finally coming out the CHAMPION that he is. Predictable end aside, the storytelling is riveting and I recommend this book to anyone, man and woman, young and old, love football or not. It's a book for everyone and a keeper.
The hero is a bitter shell of what used to be a promising football superstar, with a chip on his shoulder, he spurns every kind hand in determination to make it on his own - cripple and all. He sounds like an everyday hero you can read on any book but the way the author chronicled and portrayed his gut-wrenching (I am not using the word lightly) frustration and defiant battle against what he called his curse or bad luck drew me into the book. The writing is so good that as a reader, you became the hero. You feel his anger, his inner struggle, his stubborn defiance, and the core of a man in love with his wife and children.
The last forty percent of the book is a play by play of a high school football game and the author chronicled it in everyday language to be understood by all even for a non-football fanatic like me. It brought me inside the locker room, the huddle, and in that 100 yard field.
Although the book's main plot seem focused on football, it surprisingly covers a farmer's life, destiny versus man himself, the unbreakable bond of mother and son, and small town community. The book can make you laugh, make you angry, make you cry, and make feel in love. In short expect an unforgettable roller coaster ride when you read this book.
In the end, the book is this man's (almost forty) journey inward and finally coming out the CHAMPION that he is. Predictable end aside, the storytelling is riveting and I recommend this book to anyone, man and woman, young and old, love football or not. It's a book for everyone and a keeper.
October 1, 2012
Murphy is a man on the edge of failure. His dreams of being a football player and escaping the small town life are shattered just like his leg after winning the big High School game. Now, 20 years later his last name "Murphy" seems to be a curse, just like "Murphy's Law: if it can go wrong it will", and for our Scott Murphy it's a series of one bad thing after another.
He's broke. He's lost in a world of self pity and everything is crumbling down around him. But fate seems to be looking down on him and something, a second chance, a do-over is about to happen.
The book is very well written and descriptive. I also might add that the movie is also very well done for an independent film. And it follows the book pretty close. A classic in its own right.
For me at times, especially by the end, it reminded me of "It's a Wonderful Life". It has a family man, liked by many people and loved by his family, but still life isn't what it should be or what Murphy expected it to be. He moves toward a dramatic and final action, then fate or an intervention occurs and he has a chance to alter the outcome.
One last thought for those who may not like football or books about sports. This book isn't really about the game of football, although football is a big part of Murphy's life. It's ultimately about life struggles, the decisions we make, the dreams we lose, and redemption if we look hard enough. It's the journey of a man who finds a new purpose in life and with new meaning added to his life, a new happiness is discovered.
Highly Recommended...
He's broke. He's lost in a world of self pity and everything is crumbling down around him. But fate seems to be looking down on him and something, a second chance, a do-over is about to happen.
The book is very well written and descriptive. I also might add that the movie is also very well done for an independent film. And it follows the book pretty close. A classic in its own right.
For me at times, especially by the end, it reminded me of "It's a Wonderful Life". It has a family man, liked by many people and loved by his family, but still life isn't what it should be or what Murphy expected it to be. He moves toward a dramatic and final action, then fate or an intervention occurs and he has a chance to alter the outcome.
One last thought for those who may not like football or books about sports. This book isn't really about the game of football, although football is a big part of Murphy's life. It's ultimately about life struggles, the decisions we make, the dreams we lose, and redemption if we look hard enough. It's the journey of a man who finds a new purpose in life and with new meaning added to his life, a new happiness is discovered.
Highly Recommended...
June 28, 2012
This is another one of those free Kindle downloads that took me by surprise. (Disclaimer: I tend to approach these with somewhat lowered expectations, so if you read it on my recommendation and don't agree, you can't say I didn't warn you.)
On the surface, it's a football novel, a story about youthful glory and how quickly it fades. But there are deeper undertones about fate and choices, about what we take for granted and about how easy it can be to become someone we don't particularly like. There were some obvious plot elements, but at the end I found myself surprisingly touched.
On the surface, it's a football novel, a story about youthful glory and how quickly it fades. But there are deeper undertones about fate and choices, about what we take for granted and about how easy it can be to become someone we don't particularly like. There were some obvious plot elements, but at the end I found myself surprisingly touched.
January 15, 2018
If you could go back to a pivotal moment in your own past, would you make the exact same choices or would you try to change something? Although I have no great love of football, I loved this book!
October 8, 2012
Let me just say right off that this goes on my Highly-recommended-and-I’ll-tell-everyone-I-know-to-read-it list. Yes, I have just such a list. It’s not very long. This book definitely makes it on.
So I guess you can say I really, really liked this book.
The basic premise is familiar: what if you were given a second chance to change the moment that destroyed your life? That’s exactly what Murphy, a former high school football star, gets. Two completely different futures hinge on what he decides. He’s okay with that, but what he didn’t expect was that either way, a sacrifice is required.
This book works on several levels: as a story about second chances; superb character development and descriptions; as a reflection on what sacrifice and love really are; and ultimately about figuring out what’s really important. This is an easy read with profound consequences. Go buy it.
So I guess you can say I really, really liked this book.
The basic premise is familiar: what if you were given a second chance to change the moment that destroyed your life? That’s exactly what Murphy, a former high school football star, gets. Two completely different futures hinge on what he decides. He’s okay with that, but what he didn’t expect was that either way, a sacrifice is required.
This book works on several levels: as a story about second chances; superb character development and descriptions; as a reflection on what sacrifice and love really are; and ultimately about figuring out what’s really important. This is an easy read with profound consequences. Go buy it.
June 14, 2015
I'd rate this 4.5 stars if I could. This was a freebie from Amazon a couple of years ago, and what a lovely book. At first glance it would seem to be a sports book about Mr. Football, a high school quarterback that was on the fast track to the NFL, one of the greats. But when a disaster happens to keep him home, he becomes bitter and unhappy. Twenty years later he's happily married and has 2 kids, but he's still struggling to make ends meet, is stuck in his small town, and feels that he missed out on greatness, not only with his career, but when his beautiful girlfriend from high school dumped him and married his supposed best friend. He feels that Murphy's Law is following him around, bringing bad luck (his name is Scott Murphy, ironically). Magically, on the day of the 20-year reunion of his last high school football game, he travels back in time to the week before the game, feeling young again but remembering everything. Don't you hear people say, "If only I could go back and live life again knowing what I know now." Well, this is what happens to him. And he wants to try to change things so he can work it all out the way he originally planned, but it's complicated, he discovers. The reader gets caught up in the story, not quite sure why this is happening to Scott, realizing that he's now appreciating the things and people in high school that he ignored as a self-absorbed jock, and wondering if he can indeed change history and if he'll prefer it to what he had. This is basically a love story, and a feel-good story about a man who faces his decisions and his life and recognizing himself and what he has. A definite freebie surprise. A winner that kept my interest throughout.
September 3, 2012
What would you do if you could live a life defining moment over again? One that you think would make your life and others around you easier. But would it? If you went back and changed things, you might not have the wife you have now or your kids. This is a story about such a dilema that a man goes through. He has lots of challenges in his life since a fateful day in High School and everything seems to go wrong but when he goes back in time as an adult in a tennage boys body to change things.. he sees things and himself in a different light.
A feel good book that I would recommend. I think they even made it into a movie but don't quote me on that but read the book it is really good.
A feel good book that I would recommend. I think they even made it into a movie but don't quote me on that but read the book it is really good.
January 26, 2013
The reviews are right, "Touchback" is an excellent, inspirational novel.
Scott Murphy was a high school hero on the gridiron--scholarships and a career in the NFL are his. Until an injury on the last play of his last game shatters his life.
Now, twenty years later, Murphy finds himself in a position to--literally--go back in time and change that moment.
Football may be the premise, but the true driving forces of "Touchback" are faith, family and one man's journey in search of himself.
I thoroughly enjoyed Handfield's novel, but I must admit, it held very few surprises. "Touchback" is uplifting, exciting and extremely readable. But just a little too predictable to earn five stars.
Scott Murphy was a high school hero on the gridiron--scholarships and a career in the NFL are his. Until an injury on the last play of his last game shatters his life.
Now, twenty years later, Murphy finds himself in a position to--literally--go back in time and change that moment.
Football may be the premise, but the true driving forces of "Touchback" are faith, family and one man's journey in search of himself.
I thoroughly enjoyed Handfield's novel, but I must admit, it held very few surprises. "Touchback" is uplifting, exciting and extremely readable. But just a little too predictable to earn five stars.
July 10, 2013
This book was amazing. Has there ever been a point in your life that you felt, "If I could change that, things would be different"? Would you want to change things? Think about where you are in your life now. If you're happy, if you're loved, and you go back to change things, you will lose it all. It's a hard choice. But in this book, that's what Scott Murphy is faced with. A chance to change his fate, his life, and live it out how he felt it should have been. I couldn't stop reading this book. The emotions pouring out of Murphy felt so real, I cried. I laughed. I was so moved by this book. If you want a real feel book, and if you LOVE football like I do, read this!
July 23, 2012
This book is about hope, love and self awareness. I really enjoyed the story of Murphy and the second chance that he receives to become the man he wants to be.
Mr. Handfield’s perservance in getting his story made into a movie is tremendous. I hope to see the movie soon (YES, Kurt Russell is in it!) and from the movie trailers I see, it looks like it follows the book faithfully.
Thank you to Don Handfield and Kimberly Kinrade from Novel Publicity for giving me the opportunity to post this guest post and review this novel.
Mr. Handfield’s perservance in getting his story made into a movie is tremendous. I hope to see the movie soon (YES, Kurt Russell is in it!) and from the movie trailers I see, it looks like it follows the book faithfully.
Thank you to Don Handfield and Kimberly Kinrade from Novel Publicity for giving me the opportunity to post this guest post and review this novel.
December 21, 2012
OH WHAT A GOOD BOOK!!
high school football hero scott murphy has it all
the looks ,the arm ,and the girl
scoring the winning touchdown during the championship
he suffers a terrible injury and his life is changed for ever....
married,broke,and suffering from "murphy's law"
he is despondent enough to commit suicide for the insurance money
for his family.....
but did he die??
is this heaven??
or did he get a second chance??
5 star book read it in one day
also made into a movie......must read!!!
high school football hero scott murphy has it all
the looks ,the arm ,and the girl
scoring the winning touchdown during the championship
he suffers a terrible injury and his life is changed for ever....
married,broke,and suffering from "murphy's law"
he is despondent enough to commit suicide for the insurance money
for his family.....
but did he die??
is this heaven??
or did he get a second chance??
5 star book read it in one day
also made into a movie......must read!!!
July 23, 2013
An easy read. The main character, Murphy, is likeable and believable and the time shift easy to assimilate. Everything is slightly larger than real life and it should make (has made?) an excellent movie. Since it was a free kindle there can be no word of complaint without being churlish. I very much enjoyed the tale although, unlike a number of reviewers, I cannot say it will make me reflect any differently on life. It wasn't that deep or novel. A fun way to pass the time and if you can get it for nothing don't hesitate for a second.
October 3, 2012
TWO THUMBS UP!! What an awesome read with such insight into the human psyche (sp?) It really hits home - there are so many times in our lives when we question where our lives are going, why do we have to go through this? When will this end? This book is like that - about a teenage "hero" who becomes a champion in the truest sense of the word! The book was so awesome - I just bought the movie!! I just hope the movie can portray the poignant moments. Thank you for such a great book -
November 2, 2012
What an unexpected surprise! This was a book that I found for free for my Kindle, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Pleasantly, I found that Don Handfield had an engaging writing style and I was drawn to the book's exploration of a man's fate. "What ifs" are things that everyone thinks about and Handfield's lead character has "what ifs" from here to the moon and back again! I can certainly see why this was made into a movie.
January 26, 2013
I got this as a freebie on the kindle and didn't have particularly high expectations as freebies can be hit or miss! Must say I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I didn't know what to expect from the story (how sure can you be when confronted by a synopsis that includes football, time travel and a love story) but the message is universal, any and everyone can relate to this. A beautiful, inspiring and touching narrative.
May 6, 2012
I got this book for free on my Kindle. I wasn't sure what to expect but I'm so glad I read it! its not the typical book I pick up but it was so good. makes you think long and hard about the past and what things are holding you back in your present. I didn't want to put it down and it was so frustrating every time I got interrupted. I definitely recommend this book! I look forward to the movie!
May 18, 2013
This emotional story takes me back to the thrilling high school days of football. However, I, unlike most of America, do not care for ( nor like the values of) NicholAs Sparks Notebook type stories. By the last chapters I had soured on this saccharin and too mystical love story - not for me despite the great football portions.
July 2, 2013
Fate or destiny? What would you do if you got a do-over of some of your life's biggest moments? What would the consequences be if you changed your history? What does it take to be a champion? I thought this would be a book mostly about football, but football wasn't the point at all. It was a Kindle Freebie, and I really liked it!
June 23, 2012
4 1/2 stars. Loved this book. What a great surprise this book turned out to be. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because of the somewhat slow start. The tone of the book was along the lines of "It's A Wonderful Life". Nice Story.
September 27, 2012
Did not realize this was the movie until I was about halfway through with it. I kind of wanted to see the movie before I read this book, now I really want to see it. Very good book and makes you wonder what you would do if you could change your life.
November 5, 2012
This was a free book from Amazon. Having read a few free selections in the past, my expectations were not very high, to say the least. This book ended up being a pleasant surprise. Greatly enjoyed it.
November 30, 2012
Christian Inspirational Romance. I usually find errors in these books but this one has only 3 that I found, which is not enough to mark the rating down for errors. If the author wants them contact me at amacd55 at gmail dot com.
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December 16, 2012Touch back helps answer the question "what if ...." or is it time travel? To relive a defining moment in our hero's young life is zoology tempting. But would relieving the event change just the physical outcome of a bum leg or would all the GOOD things change too? And what would YOU do?
April 22, 2012
Is the best book i have read all year!
July 13, 2012
Definite page-turner for women...this is not a football book
July 31, 2012
Loved this book...great lessons to learn...
August 1, 2012
This was a free kindle book, and I loved it! really well written!
to-read-and-have
August 3, 2012Got for free on Amazon.
September 1, 2012
A wonderful work that was delayed in finishing by school starting. I would highly recommend to anyone that had a thought about changing the defining moment in his/her life.
September 4, 2012
This novel is o.k. I can understand why a movie was made of it, but I admit that the flashback/time-travel scenes are a little overwrought.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews