Legs Hearts Minds: Loss and Its Remedies

by Chris Jones

In this raw, potent memoir of heartbreak and the life-saving power of fandom, an award-winning sports journalist tells the story of how he hit rock bottom—and the unlikely, unlucky soccer team that would carry him through

Returning home from a month-long work trip covering the European championships for ESPN, worn out by life but too jet-lagged to fall asleep, Chris Jones opened his wife’s laptop intending to get a little writing done. Instead, he found a series of text messages that would burn his marriage—and his world—to the ground. “In the span of twenty minutes,” Jones writes, “I lost my wife and my best friend. In the coming weeks, I would lose my house, half my money, and some equal measure of my boys. That wicked morning, that terrible dawn, I watched the sun peel back the longest night of my life, and I felt my anger already making room for sadness, fear, disbelief. I was forty-two years old. Nothing true of my life would be true again.”

Overwhelmed by sorrow and often terrifying rage, Jones contemplated suicide, not for the first time. He fought to carry on, for his two sons if no one else, only to end up in an emergency room, begging a doctor for help. That was the start of his way back. He embarked on a journey to understand who he is and the mistakes he has made, to let go of anger and find forgiveness, and to give himself over to something outside of an underdog English soccer team from an underdog northern town called Burnley, beloved by his grandfather, forever destined to also-ran status. In some ways, following Burnley mirrored the ups—and downs—of the rest of his life, and Jones began taking the team’s lessons as his own. Together, they would navigate the long journey from hope to despair back to hope again. 

How does one rebuild a life? Can something as simple as soccer give someone a reason to live, offering solace and ultimately meaning? In this searing, beautiful memoir, Chris Jones reveals how his love for the game brought him joy, connection, and purpose when he needed it most.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Mental Health, Biography Memoir

274 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 2, 2026

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Reviews

[Rick B Buttafogo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this memoir. I never heard of Chris Jones nor am I a soccer fan but this memoir was amazing, beautiful, sad, funny, infuriating, heartbreaking…everything. I do believe it’s the first time I’ve ever read a book from a husband’s perspective, a father’s perspective about divorce and its impact on the family. A divorce that plays out when a man literally opens up his laptop to begin writing for his job assignment only to see a live text message between his wife and his friend professing their love for each other. Where do you go from there? This memoir goes into depth with Jones’ attempt at taking his life, twice, to counselling, to picking up the pieces to move on. Along the way he dives in to soccer 110% in order to survive. He focuses on raising his two sons, one with autism. He meets new loves along the way. Finally the last part of the book focuses on his relationship with his mother. So beautifully written. Thank you for the ARC, publishing June 9 2026. A book for anyone looking for encouragement. 4.5⭐️s.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a moment in this where the author is sitting in a restaurant with his girlfriend, who has moved back to Europe and is working and traveling, and it seems like she won't be his girlfriend much longer. They get in an argument and he says "Let's end this argument the way we always do. I'll apologize."

Her anger and frustration are swift and immediate. They have, he says, their worst fight ever.

Something about that anecdote made me realize why he was a hard guy to have a relationship with. The absolution of responsibility. The "I'm trying, you're not." Moments like this make Legs Hearts Minds a frustrating read, but given the nature of the book and his inclusion of these moments, he has to know that. This is the sort of book you write you can only write when you have a heightened self awareness of your shortcomings.

Still, I spent quite a bit of my time reading it trying to deduce just how self aware this guy is. When he remembers that moment, does he know why it was frustrating? How does he think it will land with us, the readers?

I enjoyed this book about a man finding his way. I am, interestingly enough, also reading Belle Burden's "Strangers" right now, which could almost be a companion piece. I enjoy Chris Jones's writing a great deal, and he's at his best here. I didn't care much about the soccer, but fortunately, it's much more sparse than the human struggle stuff. I would recommend this book for its uniqueness, and for the power of Jones's writing. Also, how many modern day Canadian memoirs can you read that take place in Port Hope?

This is a frank look at loss and loneliness. If you've felt much of either, as I have, you'll appreciate it.

[Kristian Hay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up on a whim after reading a bit of Chris Jones' coverage of the World Cup, and really enjoyed my read. As someone who loves sport and the fandom around it, I connected with a lot of the memoir's "why" as an answer to people who just don't get sports.

A heavier read than I anticipated, but a great one all the same.

[Shilchie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to read this, but the narcissism blasted off the pages with all the red flags.

[Matthew Wells · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is truly a tale of three thirds. The first third is absolutely mesmerizing, beginning with most of the article from The Atlantic that drew many, including myself, to this work in the first place. Jones writes with an amazing energy as he lurches from the dark moment that starts the work through the early stages of his separation and divorce. But this event serves as a springboard to Jones' recollections of his earlier mental health struggles, as well as a variety of anecdotes that reverberate with the same urgent energy. It's great stuff.

Interspersed with the personal stories are digressions on soccer/football that I actually really enjoyed, though if you're not much of a sports fan you might not think are so great. I'm not a soccer fan myself, however, but I was drawn into Jones' descriptions of its various facets, as well as the connections to his wider family history. Again, excellent material.

The second third of the book coasts a bit, losing some of the urgency of the start as Jones' life starts to stabilize. Great! I'm happy for him despite the setbacks he still suffers, and it's interesting to learn more about his kids, who he does seem to be spending more time with and truly bonding with. And again soccer stories are threaded throughout, which I continued to find worked quite well. Maybe it's just because it's currently World Cup season, but I really got into his descriptions of the game and its various fandoms.

But then... then... we get to the last third of the book, and things fall off of a cliff. I want to preface this by saying that the events described in this section are sad. Truly sad. No doubt about that. But that doesn't mean the writing is good. In fact it's awful. It descends into the saccharine drivel I would expect to find in the average article in Oprah's magazine (is that still a thing?) More importantly, all the major story threads from the first two thirds of the book totally vanish, and we hyper-fixate on this one ongoing event in his life. All the characters we read so much about before - including, alarmingly, his children - fall off of the face of the Earth, and we hear more about other people in Jones' life that we heard next to nothing about in the first two thirds. Terrible writing!

I mean look, I think some people will read through this and think I'm a ghoul for ragging on the last bit. But to those folks I say, writing a memoir is as much about balancing characters and narratives as is novel writing. And here is where Jones totally fails to keep his audience. To take one example, what happened to his ex-wife? Did he ever finally forgive her? What happened to that Brad character? Did he just leave town? We get no closure on any of this, when these are the people and events that led us to read the book in the first place.

Once the shine came off of this work, other stuff started to bother me about it too, first and foremost being Jones' incredible privileged life that he seems to be mostly oblivious to. He complains so much about losing his job and losing half his income to alimony and such, but then he jets around the world meeting up with his Romanian girlfriend. And he gets amazing writing job after amazing writing job, getting front-row seats to the World Cup and Euro. And while Jones gets these jobs because he is a very good sportswriter, he seems to have no idea how lucky he is to be in the position he is in. It sounds like this incredible career started for him at a young age, so I think he has no idea how most of the rest of us live.

I would give this three stars, but I'm taking a star away for the awful bait-and-switch.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for inviting me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was just not for me. I am not sure what exactly I thought this book was going to be like, but it wasn’t what I pictured in my head at all. I think that is partly why I didn’t enjoy this. I think I thought there would be more talk about soccer and his team lifting him up. Instead it was a lot about his relationships with the women he dated and the people in his life. I just couldn’t quite get into it.

I feel bad saying I didn’t like it because it is about his life! I just couldn’t connect to his life story. Which doesn’t mean someone else won’t get more out of it.

I felt for him losing his wife, but he also wasn’t a perfect husband. So he sounded a little bit “woe is me” in some moments. He said a few times he didn’t feel bad when he was away from his kids, so I don’t totally blame the wife for trying to find a connection somewhere else. It doesn’t justify her cheating on him because that is never okay, nor his friend betraying him. I can just understand her.

I really felt for him with his depression and suicidal tendencies. No one should have to go through that feeling! Trigger warning for cutting and mentions of those themes are throughout the book. I am glad he went to therapy to try and get help. As he got older, he found the will to live.

I know he was going through a hard time, but the way it was written still wasn’t very compelling.

I like books about sports, but I don’t really care about soccer, so I couldn’t even get into that aspect of it. I did relate to how much he loved sports and his favorite team, so at least there was that. If you know the author before picking up this book, you probably would get more out of this, but from an outside perspective who knew nothing about him, this isn’t something I’d recommend to pick up.

The part about Kismet was the best part of the book, but also the most heartbreaking. That got the most feeling from me. The part about his mom at the end was the most I was into the book. I liked how his family came together for their mom and helped take care of her. She was such a strong woman and fought until the end. It is too bad what she and the whole family had to go through.

I think MAYBE if I listened to the audiobook with the author narrating, I could have liked it more. Just reading it physically didn’t do anything for me though. I was so detached from his life that it just didn’t work for me.

[Matthew Sooby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not being a sports fan, I stumbled across Chris Jones, the sports journalist, by accident when a story from The Atlantic came across my social media feed. Something about not only the dramatic tale of loss but the writing itself grabbed me. Jones says:

I told Gary that he had mistaken me for a different kind of writer, for an artist. I wasn’t an artist. I’d always thought of my work as manual labor. I liked how it felt to write a good sentence, the way it feels satisfying to cut a perfect dovetail or find the most efficient way to run pipe. I thought of words as parts, and I liked how words looked when they fit together well. I didn’t believe in muses, or divine inspiration, or writer’s block, or any of the other tropes that writers use to make procrastination an affliction rather than a choice. If an electrician showed up at my house and announced that he wasn’t “feeling it,” I’d tell him to get over himself and start unspooling wire. I felt that way about writing.

I found the directness of his style magnetic. His writing is lean without losing the warmth and range of the emotions that live inside him. This carried over into the full book as well, of which the article was an excerpt and which chronicles Jones’ post-divorce journey and how it mirrors the plights of Burnley, the English football club that he loves. I couldn’t put it down, which is miraculous considering I’ve never watched a full game of football in my life and that my attention span feels torn to bits lately.

I also found Jones an interesting narrator because of his flaws, not in spite of them. Or maybe it's better to say because of the mystery in what he doesn’t write. Often, even when it seemed he was giving an honest attempt at being genuine, I felt very clearly that we were only hearing one side of a story and that the rougher bits were being sanded over. (Most of all, I’m curious what really happened to scare his ex-wife and the other family so much when he went to get his kids from the house of her affair partner.) I could never tell if these omissions were by design or from lack of insight. I suspect it’s a little of both. For what it’s worth, Jones softens in real ways and acknowledges his shortcomings throughout, especially in the self-reflection of the afterward.

And either way, the one-sidedness is still a compelling kind of honesty. There is a certain version of truth in seeing the person that someone wants to present themselves as, even if the reality is less glamorous. It sometimes felt like Jones wanted to be seen as Anthony Bourdain-lite, with his descriptions of brooding moods, bare-knuckled bar fights, and the poetic meaning he finds in a subculture, his love for all things football playing the role of Bourdain’s love for all things culinary. Clearly, the other figures in his life—at least at the start of the memoir—had a very different, less romanticized view of his volatility and absenteeism. Jones gives us just enough honest reflection and self-disappointment toward his more regrettable moments to remain (usually) sympathetic.

One of the hardest parts for me was seeing him still mope while he continued to jetset around the world with little-to-no financial burden while building a passionate relationship with a younger woman, very quickly after his divorce. But, just like in Jones’ processing of his anger in therapy, I suspect that my irritation says more about my own biases and pain points than it says about him. As with Bourdain, I know very well that mental health struggles, like any sickness, can afflict even the most fortunate and traveled.

I will always have a soft spot for well-crafted explorations of mens’ mental health struggles, which make up the core of this memoir. Football serves only as a metaphor, albeit a powerful one—Legs Hearts Minds is more diary than sports reporting. Jones takes an unblinking and vulnerable account of the darker parts of his mind, and his heart shines through, always, intertwined with the triumphs and tragedies of Burnley. Perhaps that’s why his rougher sides and conveniently absent details don’t bother me as much as they could. I see in him someone who is deeply honest about his emotional journey, if not always his actions and their impacts. Jones is a solid example of the state of men’s mental health in the 21st century as well as what it looks like to do the hard work, look inside oneself, and walk down the path of recovery and growth. Born in 1973, he carries the influence of more outdated forms of masculinity—getting into fist fights in his youth was central to his emotional misadjustment as an adult. Like many men, he often finds it easier to talk about sporting events than his real feelings, hence the framing of his memoir. He hides sadness, grief, regret, and pain under anger, a more normalized expression of masculine emotion. At the same time, Jones isn’t afraid to tell us that he cries, often and in public. He talks about the other men in his life who offer a literal shoulder for him to sob into. He goes to therapy, initially wary, and soon learns to take the process seriously. The final chapters of the decade of his life the book covers culminate in love, loss, and a noticeably softer version of himself who takes the right lessons away from his fight with his inner demons.

Beyond the craft and construction of the writing itself, it is his wrestling with depression, compulsions, suicidality, anger, and heartbreak that made this book so hard to put down. Full disclosure: I am a therapist myself, and I believe I walked away from Legs Hearts Minds with new insights into what sports can mean to people who love them, some needed inspiration for my own battle with depression, and fresh ways to make inroads with the people I serve. If you can handle reading about someone who—even after growing—never seems to fully understand the burden and pain of his ex-wife and her inequities in their marriage, then I highly recommend picking up this memoir from a flawed but sympathetic and gifted writer. If he was perfect, it wouldn’t be a story worth reading.

[J. Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the advance copy of this memoir in exchange for my honest thoughts. Legs Hearts Minds releases June 2, 2026 (just in time for FIFA 2026).

What do you do when your life starts to fall apart — do you meditate, lash out, or something else entirely? In this memoir, Jones explores a mantra he takes from former Burnley Football Club manager Sean Dyche: "Legs Hearts Minds". This is the three ways an underdog can overcome an opponent stronger than themselves — out muscling them, out believing them, and out thinking them. Jones goes through all three after he catches his wife cheating on him, and he loses his job, and his already sick mother falls ill, all in quick succession.

As a reader, you genuinely feel like you’ve gone on this rollercoaster of a journey and self-development with Jones. It’s also clear who helps him do the heavy lifting — there’s never a moment where he makes it seem like he’s done it all by himself or just simply flipped a switch, instead he struggles and people challenge him. He also demonstrates how belonging to a core fanbase (especially one for a team with a history of struggle) can help navigate your own life as it falters. It’s overall pretty well paced, with the exception being the divisions of the book (not the timelines covered, those are fine).

And this brings me to my main negative: for a memoir that so explicitly evokes a philosophy of overcoming challenge, I wish there was more explicit reflection points. In the section on Legs it would have been helpful to meditate on the attempts at outmuscling his “opponents” (life and its hardships) rather than just focusing more on Legs events and hoping we get the point. Jones is clearly a skilled writer, so I know that could have been accomplished, and it would have given the memoir that extra oomph in its impact on the reader.

[Firetruckmama · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher, for which I thank them.


“Legs, Hearts, Minds” is by Chris Jones. Mr. Jones’s is a good writer and that is obvious in this book where he deals with so many things (betrayal, divorce, depression - and that’s just the beginning). In order to try to get some semblance of his life back - and remove some of the anger he feels both internally and externally - he goes to a therapist (thank you!) and takes a mantra from former football (soccer for the Americans) manager Sean Dyche - “Legs Hearts Minds.” In each section of this book, Jones examines each of those components to become stronger - out muscling, out believing, and out thinking. I’m not a footie person, so some of the love for the team Dyche coached I skimmed over (apologies to those who love the sport!). I felt that at times the diving into each part of the mantra was a bit heavy handed - but Jones never goes through this alone (he struggles, he gets support, he gets challenges), which made it all feel more like a memoir of a difficult time but he made it through intact, if battered and bruised at times. While this wasn’t quite the book for me, I did find it an interesting one - and if rekindling love for a childhood team and taking inspiration from them can help one get through yet another day when it seems really dark, more power to you. For me this was a 3.5 read.

[Tori Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an email a few weeks ago from Random House asking if I’d be interested in reading this book. I am so glad I said yes. There is something so special about a journalist writing a memoir. They know how to captivate audiences with a short runway of words. Getting a whole book? Wow. Pure magic.

This memoir is so incredibly raw and heartfelt. You go through the highs and the lows of Jones’ life alongside the highs and lows of his favorite football team, Burnley F.C.. They somehow flow seamlessly together and that is no small feat.

Chris Jones’ journey of “becoming a better man” is memorable, touching, and relatable (even to this female reviewer). This is a book of life lessons with a sprinkle of sports.

Favorite Quotes:

“What happened, happened. There was no changing it. There was only learning from it.”


“We all lose people and things we love. We all have regrets. What matters is that we honor them by learning from them.”


“People want to live, and they die. People fight to live, and they die. I had invited death to take me and it didn’t. That knowledge had been it’s own kind of burden.”


“Some wounds heal fully, and we forget about them. Some leave scars, and they remind us that we lived. The open ones are how we know that we’re still alive and that we still have a chance to get better.”


eARC provided by Random House.

[Ryan Brandenburg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Jones is undoubtedly a remarkable writer, and this book is a prime example of that.

In his memoir, Jones begins by recounting the revelation that his wife is having an affair with one of their mutual friends. However, the story that unfolds is far from merely salacious. Instead, it delves into Jones’s profound despair throughout his life, ultimately transforming into a deeply redeeming and well-crafted narrative.

By the end of this book, I felt like I had embarked on a tumultuous journey with Jones, albeit in a positive way. His personal growth was inspiring, as conveyed through this well-paced memoir, which boasts the aforementioned excellent writing.

My sole critique is the lengthy and elaborate description of sports. Since this isn’t a subject that particularly piques my interest, I found myself skimming through those sections. While some readers might appreciate it, it occasionally detracted from the emotional impact of Jones’ story for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with an advanced copy of this upcoming memoir, which will be released on June 2, 2026.

[Katelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I am not a sports fan by any means, I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir. Soccer is a large part of Chris Jones's life, so naturally, it is a large part of this story. Don't let this deter you, however! The underlying message - that despite the ups and downs of one's life, there is always something to hold on to to bring you hope - applies to readers of all genres and walks of life. Jones also brings in a refreshing view on how his son's Autism diagnosis showed him how to live a more meaningful life. I think this story is best told through audio, which I switched to about 30% of the way through. Hearing Jones tell his story is well worth the time invested in the audiobook, trust me! This story will stick with me, and I am very thankful I took the time to read/listen to it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Chris Jones, and Random House for a copy of this book. I received this ARC for free and am leaving a review voluntarily.

[Candy Schulze · Rating 4 out of 5]

An advanced copy of this book was suggested to me based on previous books I had read on NetGalley. I may have never picked this one up, as Chris Jones was not someone I was familiar with. However, I’m really glad for the suggestion because I enjoyed it and was fully engaged in Chris’ story telling. Chris’ job as a writer and the places that profession has taken him was really fascinating to me. It is easy to see how that lifestyle could create rifts within relationships and cause things to fall apart if not tended to. Chris was very candid with all of his ups and downs, and his mental health journey was really honest. I know next to nothing about soccer (European football) but his descriptions of how the game and teams mirrored his own struggles were very understandable; I didn’t need to be a soccer expert to follow along. I enjoyed Chris’ relationship with his children and his hope for how they would inherit the best parts of himself. I think this is a great read for anyone with mental health struggles and an interest in travel and sports. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

[Reading Xennial · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well-done memoir that talks about losing things that are important to you and finding a new passion to focus your energy towards instead of letting life drag you down. Chris Jones wrote an easy to read memoir about a sad, common issue, how it can destroy a person, and how a person can work to overcome their sadness. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this because I know next to nothing about soccer. This isn’t really about soccer, but how finding a new passion can be what someone needs to pull themselves out of the depths. I highly recommend this book to anyone who’s gone through similar things in their lives and even if you haven’t.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read this book early. The opinion in this review is my own.

[Janene Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find rating memoirs difficult to do. It is a brave act to write your story, whatever it may be. Chris Jones' story is no different. Although I am not a soccer fan, the story opens with his wife is having an affair with one of their mutual friends. However, the story does not focus on this. Instead it proceeds to dive into Jones’s past, the despair he has felt along the way and the redemption he found. II found his story inspiring, although sometimes I felt like his description of the sport dragged. This could be because I am not a soccer fan, but I just skimmed through those parts. As a person who found healing through running, I admired and appreciated Jones's story and the peace he eventually found.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC.

[Andy Krahling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite simply, I loved this. Unflinchingly honest, this memoir combines a love of soccer and the Burnley Football Club with the ups and downs of a life filled with losses, loves and heartache.

The author did not shy away from painful self-reflection, and was fearless in his descriptions of his life's struggles.

I could relate with almost everything here; I appreciated the parallels between my own love of the game and the pain that is always just around the corner.

Some readers might shy away because of the tale's connection with sport; fear not. This transcends sport, and I'm glad I experienced it.

I received a complimentary e-copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

[Carolien · Rating 4 out of 5]

You do not need to know a lot about soccer to appreciate this book about loss and hope and the messy parts in between. The author returns home from a 2016 football tournament in France to discover his wife have stopped loving him and is having an affair with a family friend. He chronicles the story from anger to understanding as he also rediscovers his love of Burnley football club and starts following their travails from Ottawa. The author's introspection to move from the angry man that he had been to acknowledging the role he played in the break-up of his relationships and trying to become a better version of himself is set against the history and current struggles of a small English town and its team.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook. Narration was a bit bland and boring. I did not really enjoy this book. There was way too much talk about soccer, sports, players, teams etc. It took up a good majority of the book and honestly, I just wasn’t interested in it. I was much more interested in his personal relationship story. And I did not like his wife, Amy at all. I don’t know why people cheat. If you’re unhappy, just get divorced, don’t sneak around.

[Audra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like the world needs more of this - men who are willing to be vulnerable and put their feelings out there. Some of it was painful how angry he was. It was nice to see him own some of his mistakes. I was pleasantly surprised by how he spoke of his time with his boys. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a sports fan. I picked this book up because it touched on depression and working through his divorce. He shows that life is hard and you have to work at it. My favorite parts were ones with Gary his therapist. He is right you can work with sadness and anger, but not guilt and embarassment.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've missed reading Chris Jones and devoured this book in two days. Though its framing is deeply personal, Jones's way with words makes this story of football, family, heartbreak, and the pursuit of redemption wholly universal.

[Connor Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s not often I read a memoir that I felt like I could have written. I’m sure many people will have their issues with some of the details (and lack thereof), but this one resonated and hit home like no other. Highly recommend it to anyone who loves sports and went through heartbreak.

[Ellen Stretlien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well written. Most of the soccer stuff was lost on me but I get the theme of struggle and growth. I initially read an excerpt in The Atlantic and immediately ordered the book. It’s a very good read even for non- soccer fans.

[Thomas Lund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fremragende bog. Vi kommer helt ind i hjernen på en mand under en skilsmisse. Næsten for ærlig. Og alt sammen kædet sammen med han passion for fodbold. Læs den.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn’t quite what I wanted it to be about. But, the writing is good , and his story is interesting

[Keith Sherwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about loving a soccer club but so much more. Grief, shock, mental health, love, loss, family, life. An amazing journey I didn’t want to end.

[Nation Hahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a stunning, unflinching look at the end of a marriage, the life that followed, and finding your way to a better place. Oh, and soccer.

[Jacob ZL · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Bart · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the few books I could find describing divorce from a guys pov. Was initially annoyed at the football references but then grew to appreciate them. It all makes even more sense by the end.

[Marianne Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

A riveting story of personal growth and the role of sports fandom

No review of my previous reading would predict that I would love this book, but I did. A big part of what makes this book so successful is that this author is a skilled and polished professional journalist. He knows how to build momentum and hold the reader's attention firmly in his grip. This book particularly bears a message of hope for those whose long time marriage hits the rocks in midlife. Recommended with 5 stars.