Everyday Faith

by Terry Pluto, Janet Leach (Editor)

"Writing about religion can kill your career," a friend told sportswriter Terry Pluto. "Don’t do it," advised media colleagues. Pluto followed his conscience anyway and began writing a new column for the "Your Faith" section of the Akron Beacon Journal. Turns out it was a good now, thousands of loyal readers turn to his column each week for a regular dose of down-to-earth spiritual inspiration. This book collects the best from the first three years of that popular column. Really, though, Pluto doesn’t write about religion. He does write about church and about God. But mostly he writes about the important issues we all confront in everyday life. Like getting along with our siblings. Setting a better example for our children. Listening better to our spouses. How money makes us do silly things. The lure of gossip. Feeling lonely. Giving in to anger. How we feel when our prayers go unanswered. Pluto writes from a very personal perspective, as when he discusses the vanity of his own approach to baldness, or reveals white lies he has used to make himself feel better, or describes the temptation to tell off his boss at work. It’s this honestly humble approach to finding the spiritual in the ordinary that gives Pluto’s writing such broad appeal. "I don’t care if you are a Jew, a Christian, a Muslim, or a skeptic; there is a spiritual thirst in most of us," Pluto says. "I try to write about God and us and what that means for our lives." For a sportswriter who never thought he’d write about faith, Pluto has brought a great deal of meaning to the lives of his readers. This collection will serve as a great way for Pluto fans to revisit the many inspirations found in his writing—and to share them with a new audience.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2004

About the author

Terry Pluto is a sports columnist for the Plain Dealer. He has twice been honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the nations top sports columnist for medium-sized newspapers. He is a nine-time winner of the Ohio Sports Writer of the Year award and has received more than 50 state and local writing awards. In 2005 he was inducted into the Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame. He is the author of 23 books, including The Curse of Rocky Colavito (selected by the New York Times as one of the five notable sports books of 1989), and Loose Balls, which was ranked number 13 on Sports Illustrateds list of the top 100 sports books of all time. He was called Perhaps the best American writer of sports books, by the Chicago Tribune in 1997. He lives with his wife, Roberta, in Akron, Ohio."

Reviews

[Linda George · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book of essays that Terry Pluto has written for his Faith and You newspaper column.

[Mark Matzke · Rating 5 out of 5]

for lessons on how to communicate God's truth in a direct and clear manner, take notes from Cleveland's foremost sportswriter (!) who is honest, humble and never loses the reader

[Ann C. Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book makes you think about your life and actions. At times I realize that I could look at an issue in a different way.