Rinkside: A Family's Story of Courage & Inspiration

by Craig McCarty, Darren McCarty (Afterword), Kirk Gibson (Foreword)

How much should you encourage your child when he or she wants to become a professional athlete? Is it realistic to believe your son can really make it in the NHL? When Craig and Roberta McCarty were faced with that decision, they told Darren to always have a plan and they would stand behind him—whatever it took. What it took was a lot of family sacrifice but what it led to was a two-time Stanley Cup winning career with the Detroit Red Wings. What the family hadn't planned on was the individual struggles both father and son would have to face. After helplessly watching his son battle with alcoholism, Craig had to concern himself with his own health when he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma terminal cancer. After years of disagreement, father and son put the past behind them and vowed to be there for each other through their difficulties. Rinkside is a truly inspirational story of a family struggling to beat the odds and their discovery that a family unit is not disposable, but truly one of the most valuable things in life.

208 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1998

Reviews

[Bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rink Side is a great book. It really expresses the meaning of family and dedication. The book is about hockey player Darren Mccarty who, from the age of five, wanted to play in the N.H.L. He had hardships as a kid. He really loved sports, but the family was hard pressed for money,so they couldn't always afford equipment, but they prevailed. They had help from many people so Darren could cntinue playing. Darren was a very good player and almost always was at the top of his team for scoring and assists.

Darren moved up in hockey as he got older, and after being cut from the canadian 17 and younger team, and made the Peterborough junior B team. He would spend one to two years in Peterborough. After a couple years, he went to the draft to find out if he would be picked for a junoir A team, another step towards the N.H.L. He was told by a manager of a team that the team would take him in the second round, but didn't. Darren was devastated, but was relieved when he was picked by the Beleville Bulls. He would go on to play three years in Beleville. While this is all going on, Darren's father is struggling with cancer.

The climax and developing questions throught the story are, will Darren make it to the N.H.L? Will Darren's dad survive cancer? The questions are ansewered,k but ou have to read the book to find them. I recomend this book to anyone who likes sports books, but also to anyone who was told they couldn't do something, even if you don't like hockey. This book's genre is non-fiction, but I think it is a catagory of it's own, Its about a families struggles and how they over came them and always thought of others. I loved this book. It really shows that with heart, anything is posable. I give it a 10 out of 10.

[Ben Cieslak · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was okay. It was about a young Canadian boy who persues his career in professional hockey and he learns many valuable lessons along the way. It was intriguing the way that the author, Craig McCarty, developed the characters along their journey's.

[Claire B · Rating 4 out of 5]

this would be a good book for people who are looking for a quick and fun non-fiction.