Broken Laces

by Rodney Walther

Everyone deserves a second chance. Jack "The Cannon" Kennedy thinks he's living the American Dream. A fancy house in the Houston suburbs. A promising career. And a loving wife who tolerates his long hours and selfish ways. In one horrific instant, he loses his wife. Then his job. Then his hope. And that just leaves Kellen, the young son Jack hardly knows or understands. Jack realizes he must reconnect with Kellen or they'll never get past their shared grief. But Jack's biggest obstacle is staring back from the mirror. Desperate to reach Kellen, he turns to baseball, the game he once loved. With Jack, a win-at-all-costs former star pitcher, coaching his son's Little League team, what could possibly go wrong?

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

310 pages, Paperback

First published November 9, 2010

About the author

author of best-selling novel BROKEN LACES and SPACE IN THE HEART

Reviews

[Jeff Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the book last winter. I was torn between a four star and five star review. I really understand who Jack is. I went back to the days of coaching and realized in my last year of coaching that life was taking its' toll. Divorced, single parent, and a struggling company. I had become " Jack" in that last season. I was being way to hard on the boys and my son. It finally boiled over in a game to the point one of the assistants called me out during the game. I realized it was time to step down and regroup. The next year I was a supporting fan and did not interfere with the coaches. It was humbling but gave me a chance to reflect and just watch my two sons and daughter just play the game for fun. Baseball taught me how to be a dad again and to just sit back and relax.

Reading about Melanie was very difficult as I lost my fiance in 2009 to cancer. Those memories are always there and never completely leave us. Thank you Rodney, I needed that healing. I will be re-reading those parts again and again.

I don't want to steal any attention from Mr. Walther, but I couldn't help but notice how this book and two I just put out are really tied in with each other. A Baseball Coaching Manual that puts the fun back into baseball and Gods Plan A Glimpse Into Ones Life. All three make a perfect trilogy.

In closing the lessons Mr. Walther brings to light are true life lessons, baseball is a timeless sport and teaches us the value of friends, family and God. Thank you for an excellent book.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baseball, the game that closes the gap between father and son.

Such a good story. A father who has to completely change his life when his wife dies. And the game that became the bridge between father and son.

[Mary Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy reading. The story moves along nicely and keeps the reader interested.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate writing headlines

Good example of why men and women should share tasks and learn each other's roles so not to be "out on a limb" when there is a tragedy such as a sudden death. The poor kid suffers the most.

[Sheila Rimerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!


Good book about life's unpredictability. I would recommend this book to anyone who is struggling with what life has thrown at you!

[Xavier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Touching, familiar and a wonderful all around story.

[Bookmom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Due to his job, Jack is away from the house about 12 hours a day. It doesn't leave him a lot of time to be with his family, something his wife complained about often enough. When his wife dies in a car accident, Jack discovers he really doesn't know his 7 year-old son, nor does he know how to be a parent. The book is about the struggle and mistakes Jack makes with his son while dealing with his own grief. Jack hopes baseball, something he'd been very good at in his youth until his hand was injured, will bring him and his son together.

This book should appeal greatly to anyone who has been through little league or has a child who is playing. It will also grab many who lost a parent at an early age, or a spouse while raising a child. An excellent job has been done by the author in regards to the mistakes and misunderstandings that can happen between parent and child, especially involving grief or a parent's expectations of their young athlete. Jack struggles through a good portion of the book until finally reaching some realizations. The mistakes made are obvious to the reader, but then again, it's difficult to see the picture when you're standing in the middle of it. A large chunk of the book is devoted to baseball as this is Jack's passion.

I didn't have children, lose a parent at a young age or ever been involved in little league, so while a good read, I imagine the story doesn't have the same impact for me as it would otherwise. A good portion of the book deals with the struggle, which can get uncomfortable at times. A number of times I wanted to set the book aside and read something that didn't involve such emotional struggle, at least until 75% into the story when Jack starts seeing things differently. It's good to see Jack grow and become a better person and parent.

Assigning stars to this story is difficult for me. The problems Jack and his son face seem to be dead on for the type of person Jack is and what you'd expect them to be feeling. An excellent job was done on the main characters. For that and the writing itself, I would want to give it 5 stars. But I can't personally give that to a book that would have been easy for me to set aside. I will admit to being glad I read it and would prefer a rating of 3.5 stars.

Reviewed for Books and Chat

[M.M. Mayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

BROKEN LACES is a deftly constructed novel in the traditions of Nicholas Sparks and Jodi Picault. Author Rodney Walther ably executes a textbook story arc on which to display his ease with the subject matter.

Protagonist Jack Kennedy is met with monumental calamity and challenge upon the sudden death of his wife, mother of Kellen, his only child. Infected with the shallow suburban mentality that ranks hollow emblems of material success above solid investments on the personal side of the ledger, Jack is ill-equipped to cope with the needs of a motherless eight-year-old or deal with the domestic demands thrust upon him.

The father flounders in anger, confusion, and grief as the son alternates between rebellion and withdrawal. Flounder becomes struggle when Jack loses his job and Kellen is left without any sense of direction. The support of family and well-meaning friends is ineffectual at this point. As is the professional advice bought and paid for by a reluctant Jack and resisted by Kellen, who now manifests physical symptoms of his inability to process loss or accept the emotional distance from his surviving parent. Father and son appear to be permanent victims of happenstance and lack of connection until a series of events places them in a milieu in which their "broken laces" can be mended.

Although both father and son have adequate reason to shun baseball diamonds, that is where their gradual convergence begins--with Kellen overcoming his lack of innate ability and resultant indifference to the game, and Jack defeating an aversion that stems from his having squandered the talent he once had for the game. Nonbaseball fans and nonparents will be tempted to gloss over Walther's somewhat heavy-handed exposition in this portion of the book, but the story does not measurably suffer.

The introduction of a potential love interest in the persona of a female doctor who has enough spare time to conduct nature tours and umpire Little League baseball games, is a minor quibble. She simply is not believable. And the denouement is just a bit too pat--too predictable, but welcome nonetheless--a five-star recommendation nonetheless.

[Mary Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

an interesting , quick read. Baseball is the backdrop of the story, but it is actually a story of fathers and sons. The main character is not very likable and seems to have more growing up to do than his 7 year old son. A good story if you are looking for something a little different.
Two things that sort of bugged me in this book - part way through Jack loses his job. For most people this is a traumatic event and their would be major repercussions - financial, loss of health insurance and mental. This is just sort of glossed over and except for one reference nothing is mentioned about job search or finding a job. Almost seems like that event should have just been left out as it had no real effect on the story.
Also, at one point Jack's son Kellen and his friend were driven by the friend's mother in a Miata. There is no way two seven year olds could be legally riding in a Miata. That is a two passenger car and even without the front seat issue, there were not enough seat belts. Really did not affect the story, just an irritation.

[Dani Grim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very frustrating for me. The protagonist loses his wife early in the story and is left to raise the son he hadn't really gotten to know before his wife's death. The story was good and an easy read, but it was rather predictable. More frustrating than predictability - details left untended (i.e., he learns from the coroner's report that his wife was six weeks pregnant ... that is never mentioned again) and really rotten-daddy behavior glossed over (i.e., in one breath he recognizes that his son is very young and grieving; in the next, he's belittling him for not being as strong a baseball player as he'd like ... in the next scene, he steps in to patiently teach another boy to pitch when HIS father is belittling him). Honestly, I can't say that I particularly enjoyed the book or that I would recommend it to others.

[N. Sasson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't a story about baseball, but a story in which baseball shapes and defines one man's life. I read Broken Laces in a little over a day - which is unusually fast for me. I was drawn into Jack's unfortunate circumstances and immediately began rooting for him. Just when I thought maybe he was going to pull through and begin on a path to a better life, he managed to muck things up - not because his intentions weren't good, but because he still had a lot to learn about life and relationships. The love that Jack has for his son, Kellen, grows stronger day by day. Jack's problem, though, is in learning how to express that love and build for the future.

Thoroughly enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone, baseball fan or not.

[Francis T. Villante · Rating 4 out of 5]

Healing relationships

this is a good story about an eight year old boy and his father trying to have a father son relationship after the untimely death of the mother and wife respectively. the mom being the main caretaker for the first eight years of the boy's life after her death. the father is forced into playing both roles of juggling the son's schedule and his physical and emotional needs along with the fathers demanding schedule. it goes thru the trials and tribulations of being a single parent juggling both roles. it is intertwined with the boy's youth baseball team and some good friends made along the way. I would definitely recommend it to everyone who enjoys a good read about life and it's ups and downs.

[R.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rodney Walther has written a good book about a boy and his father and baseball. If any writer can make me cry, it’s Rodney. Once I read a short story he wrote and in three pages I was bawling. He has hit a home run with Broken Laces. It’s about a man wrapped up in himself (I can’t imagine – how unrealistic, right?). Jack can’t get off the phone long enough to have any real-time with his sweet family. Then he witnesses his wife killed in a car accident. To top it off, he loses his job. He is lost. But the book isn’t about his loss. It is about Jack connecting to the part of his life that he hasn’t really ever understood, his young son. Broken Laces is well-written with a line of action that is straight forward and easy to follow. Anyone would like this book. Great read!

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start by saying the only reason I finished this book was because I had one more book to read to meet my 2015 goal so I knew I couldn't give this up, no matter how bad it may be. The storyline has been done to death (no pun intended). However most books I've read start out with dad being overwhelmed by his new child rearing responsibilities and clashing with his kid, but realizing he had some changing to do in order to be a good dad. Not this guy. He was a jerk to the end, and never really redeemed himself in my eyes. The things he said to his son were so hurtful, yet he never seemed to realize it or apologize for it. I didn't like him and I didn't like the book, and I don't plan on reading any more of this author's works.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

By it’s over dramatized effect on the main characters inability to hit a curveball, the first paragraph shows the importance of baseball to the characters. This is a nice segway into how baseball will affect the lives of the characters to come. Rodney Walther sucks you right into the book after the first page.

Check out my review on Blogger

http://readinhouston.blogspot.com/201...

[H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was well written but there was something that held me back from REALLY enjoying it, it was a three star read until the end which satisfied me enough to bring it up to a four star. I have no knowledge nor interest in baseball, maybe this book would appeal to Americans a little more as it's an American sport? I don't know, but the subject of baseball being so Central was certainly central to why I held myself back from this book, some of it was SO mind numbingly boring to me. Those aside, enjoyable read.

[Carolyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't like the main character. He is everything in a man that I don't like -- arrogant, insensitive, not willing to listen and I don't think he even likes his son. Some of his traits may be due to the fact that his wife died unexpectedly, but I think he was pretty much the same when she was alive. I will finish the book because I don't allow myself to quit a book in the middle, but it sure won't ever be on my "favoirtes list."

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I had bought a totally different book through my Kindle app but this turned out to be pretty good.




SPOILER:





I thought that the character of the father seemed to move on awfully quickly after his wife's death and for that reason I found the ending of the book to be a little un-realistic. Apart from that...it was not bad

[Tina Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one! The story begins tragically as a (selfish, workaholic) man looses his wife and the mother of his young child. He struggles to work through his grief, keep his job and become both father and mother to this little boy. Heart wrenching, yet hopeful - you just want this guy to get his crap together. A really beautiful story.

[Kathy Roling · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought Jack was a selfish jerk who couldn't be there for his son. He was like a lot of Little League parents who think the kids should be able to play at a higher level than they're capable. Surprising that Jack could not bring himself to tell his eight year old son that he loved him but at the same time felt his own father didn't appreciate or love him.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having grown up in this part of Texas, I wanted to read this book. That said, I had a very difficult time trying to like the main character. He was selfish, arrogant, immature and extremely self-centered. Having lost a spouse myself, I found his depth of grief to be unrealistic and shallow. The story line was interesting but the main character was a jerk.

[Christina Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend recommend this and related it to Jodi Picoult's books. It was an easy read and enjoyable. I thought it started and ended well but felt the climax of the plot could have been a little deeper but overall I recommend, especially since it was free to borrow on amazon prime.

[Kim Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book, but not a favorite. It is told from the point of view of a man who lost his wife. How he reflects on himself as a father and how he is going to live his life for the better. Lesson learned...don't take advantage of life.

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me this was just a mediocre novel. It reminded me a bit of a Nicolas Sparks novel. It is about the relationship of a father and his young son after his wife is killed in a car accident. The arrogance of the father really bothered me. For me it was just lukewarm writing.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of the story had my interest. Interest faded in the middle of the book, making it difficult for me to continue but picked up again towards the end. Some surprising moments but the ending was easily foreseen.

[Maureen Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was sometimes hard to read as it is the story of a father learning about his son after his wife dies. It was difficult to see a dad making the same mistakes over and over again. If you like baseball and little league you will relate to this book.

[Pamela Hutchins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a beautiful, well-written book of loss, love, and fatherly redemption, surprisingly written by a man. The emotional depth is my favorite aspect of this book that will appeal to women everywhere.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

over all i liked this book. since i'm a baseball fan i could connect with that part of the book. about the middle of the book i was ready for it to be over but the suthor and the main character redeemed themselves in the latter half of the book.

[jenny karpenske · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not just a book about baseball

Very touching story about a father and son moving on after tragedy struck. Jack became the father he needed to be for his son, and got a second chance at love.

[Kathie Lyons · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good read. Engaging, but kind of predictable. I'd read more by the author because I did like the writing style.