Dream Again: A Story of Faith, Courage, and the Tenacity to Overcome

by Isaiah Austin, Robert Griffin (Foreword)

The inspiring story of Isaiah Austin, the man who captured our hearts when he was made the honorary NBA draft pick after a shocking diagnosis ended his professional basketball career before he could even step onto the court.“There are two choices in you make it your excuse or you make it your story.” Isaiah Austin’s mother shared these words of wisdom with him as a child as he came to terms with a torn retina taking away the ability to see with his right eye. Faced with adversity at a young age, Isaiah had to choose—let his disability define him or overcome the challenge and shine. Overcoming that challenge is exactly what Isaiah did as he made a name for himself on Baylor University’s NCAA Division 1 basketball team. Everyone expected Isaiah to have a successful career in the NBA after college, but on June 21, 2014—just five days before the NBA draft—Austin was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects the body’s connective tissue, putting him at risk of rupturing his heart if he continued to play basketball. In seconds, Austin’s hopes for a career in the NBA became impossible. After hearing about Isaiah’s diagnosis, NBA commissioner Adam Silver invited Austin to attend the 2014 draft as his personal guest. The League recognized Isaiah’s courage, resilience, and determination in a bittersweet moment when he was made an Honorary Draft Pick. Rather than letting another challenge destroy his faith, Austin has once again strived to overcome adversity by becoming a spokesperson for The Marfan Foundation, raising awareness and understanding for the disease. He has also founded his own non-profit organization, The Isaiah Austin Foundation, to provide support and research for Marfan syndrome and those affected by it. Despite the many heartbreaking challenges he has faced, Isaiah’s story is inspirational and full of hope as he encourages everyone to tower in the face of adversity and keep living out their dreams, no matter what life throws their way. The book includes a foreword from Robert Griffin III—the Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Biography

225 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 9, 2015

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son has Marfan Syndrome and was diagnosed at age 8. He has attended the Marfan Foundation conferences and raised money for the foundation. With that said, this book had special meaning to me, and I was in tears at the end. I am so proud that my son has someone like Isaiah Austin to be a spokesperson and to help raise awareness for the life-threatening genetic disorder.....a famous face on a rare syndrome. It astounds me that his doctors did NOT pursue a possible diagnosis when Isaiah was in middle school. That it was briefly considered and then dismissed is mind blowing to me given his physical characteristics and the retina tear. But, things happen for a reason, and God spared his life so that his story could be told with the most impact. His journey is amazing and Isaiah Austin truly is a remarkable young man. There are/will be reviewers who criticize the writing style (but consider the fact that it can now reach a wide range of audience), you might not like all the basketball details or all the references to God....but don't criticize that these are the focus of the book as basketball and faith have formed this amazing man. He is far beyond all of us in maturity and grace in dealing with this disorder.

p. 27 "You never 'grow out' of being a foot taller than everyone, so I had to grow into being comfortable with it."

p. 28 "Because of my height, people expected me to be more mature, so that's had I needed to act."

p. 34 "...sometimes in life you have to leave what feels comfortable in order to find success."

p. 71 "you can make this your excuse...or you can make it your story."

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew a bit about Austin's story before reading this book, but nothing beyond a few ESPN/SI articles. He is definitely a strong person, and I think there are a lot of people that would really enjoy this book. I'm personally not a very religious person, and Austin talks a lot about religion and how it has helped his life, so it was a bit difficult for me to really connect with the story. I also found the writing style to be a bit simplistic, so I think younger basketball fans might enjoy the book more than I did. Overall, Austin has an interesting story and he's worth reading about, but the religious aspect of the book was just a bit much for me.


Received from NetGalley.

[Rachel Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and was so inspired by Isaiah’s story. I too have Marfan Syndrome and know how hard the diagnosis is when no one else in your family has it. I also know how hard life can be living with Marfan and the mental strength it takes to deal with the challenges it presents. I can’t imagine how hard being diagnosed and losing the dream of playing in the NBA would be and doing both of those in the public eye. He handled it all with grace and anyone, with Marfan or without, can learn a lot from this book about the strength and resilience it takes to get through difficult and life changing times.

[Sean McGinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a former collegiate basketball player I was never diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome but was tested every season just as a precaution. Seeing Isaiah's story unfold my senior year of college really made me take a step back and be thankful for the current state I was in but to also relate to someone who was constantly tested for this disease. Isaiah's story is one in a million.

[Michael Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very positive, faith-filled book about trusting God and His path wherever it leads. The consistent theme is "let your hardships be your story, not your excuse." It will be great to see what God does in the future with Isaiah's life.

[Luke Koskinen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book!! Inspiring and easy to read

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

was not om chronological order - skipped around and difficult to follow.

[Kev Willoughby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspirational story about a college basketball player and potential first-round draft pick who finds out a few days before the NBA draft that he will never be able to play basketball again.

[Mitchell McMillen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really inspiring and shows that anyone can overcome anything. This book was also inspiring by the fact that no matter what happens there is always another route to go down.

[Eli Schwartzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was good.

[David Barney · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inspiring book of Isiah Austin and the trials he has experienced in his life and how he has overcome them and still is working through them. A quick read.

[Kendall Hersey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This summer I read Dream Again, Isaiah Austin's auto-biography about the challenges he faced and sacrifices he made to get to his dream - being a first round pick in the NBA draft, walking across the stage as his name gets called by the commissioner. I think this was book was a very inspiring story. It showed perseverance at its greatest level. This book took place in California, Minnesota and Texas in the years of 1993 to 2014. Although this book was an auto-biography there was a lot of unnecessary facts and writing that had no effect on the outcome of the story. My favorite part of this book how he over comes and finds a way to work around his problems. For example, Isaiah had just completed 2 vigorous surgeries and is stationed in a massage chair so his retina could heal correctly. The whole time he was in the chair he was dribbling a basketball working his handles getting better when he was unable to be on the court. This book taught me not to take the simplest things, like in this case your eyes, for granted, to keep working at your dream and not to let anything get in your way. One segment of the story, after Isaiah released his full story to the media, he started to get hundreds of letters from kids and mothers of kids who had similar and far off disabilities about big dreams that the kids had and saying that it gave them hope. Isaiah showed that it was possible to make it to the big time with his disability and working hard you can make anything possible.I recommend this book for basketball fans, kids with or without a disability that have big dreams and realize anything is possible!

[Lance · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Isaiah Austin is both heart breaking and heart warming. Heart breaking to see how far he came in his basketball career, despite losing his vision in one eye, only to have it shattered when he was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome. But his faith in both family and God shows that the young man has a bright future in any endeavor he chooses, because he realizes what is important. This book is better read by teenagers and young adults to show them the no matter what obstacles are put in front of you, if you remember what is truly important you will succeed.

[Tyler Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book because it was written from a very unique perspective and it used lots of emotions in it to help set the mood. I rated it 5 stars because of how inspiring and relatable it was. Isaiah is a great basketball player and great writer, and its interesting to hear his own story written by himself. I would recommend this to anyone who likes basketball, or wants to read an extremely inspiring story.

[Charles Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy basketball, reading about people of faith and being inspired - this is very good read.

My daughter goes to Baylor and is friends with Isaiah so I know he is the real thing when it comes to his faith.

[Lauren Sparks · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like Baylor, basketball, or sports-themed memoirs you must read this. So inspirational.

[Maxwell Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an amazing.