The Matheny Manifesto book review by Joe Buonassissi

The Matheny Manifesto: A Young Manager's Old-School Views on Success in Sports and Life 

ISBN: 978-0553446692

US prices - Canada, $2 higher

e-book - $10.99

p-book - $24

audible - $17.99

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From the Publisher:

 “Nothing worth doing right is easy.”
–Mike Matheny

   Mike Matheny was just forty-one, without professional managerial experience and looking for a next step after a successful career as a Major League catcher, when he succeeded the legendary Tony La Russa as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012. While Matheny has enjoyed immediate success, leading the Cards to the postseason three times in his first three years, people have noticed something else about his life, something not measured in day-to-day results. Instead, it’s based on a frankly worded letter he wrote to the parents of a Little League team he coached, a cry for change that became an Internet sensation and eventually a “manifesto.”

   The tough-love philosophy Matheny expressed in the letter contained his throwback beliefs that authority should be respected, discipline and hard work rewarded, spiritual faith cultivated, family made a priority, and humility considered a virtue. In The Matheny Manifesto, he builds on his original letter by first diagnosing the problem at the heart of youth sports−hint: it starts with parents and coaches−and then by offering a hopeful path forward. Along the way, he uses stories from his small-town childhood as well as his career as a player, coach, and manager to explore eight keys to success: leadership, confidence, teamwork, faith, class, character, toughness, and humility.

   From “The Coach Is Always Right, Even When He’s Wrong” to “Let Your Catcher Call the Game,” Matheny’s old-school advice might not always be popular or politically correct, but it works. His entertaining and deeply inspirational book will not only resonate with parents, coaches, and athletes, it will also be a powerful reminder, from one of the most successful new managers in the game, of what sports can teach us all about winning on the field and in life.

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Joe's Review:

Jerry Jenkins has done it again! What a helpful, well-written page turner. Not only does this book provide excellent advice for coaching (whether sports, business, or family), but it's encouraging to learn there are people of principle like Mike Matheny still on the planet. Our world is starving for true leaders. In politics, religion, sports, business, and just about every other human endeavor, true leadership is a rare thing. How refreshing to see that Mike Matheny gets it—he doesn't use his people to build his work; he uses his work to build his people.

As an incurable baseball fan, I found Matheny's insight into his baseball life fascinating. His comments about players and coaches, whose names were familiar to me, made me feel like I knew them as people, not just as statistical avatars.

Every "coach," (and we all coach at some level), regardless of his arena, should read this book to get his true north bearings before assuming responsibility for others. Mike Matheny is the real deal. His leadership style has been forged by the wisdom of the Scriptures and honed by living it out in shoe leather—he walks the talk. Mike, may your tribe increase!

Joe Buonassissi

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Goodreads Giveaway - "Meander Scar" by Lisa J. Lickel

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Meander Scar

by Lisa J. Lickel

Giveaway ends February 20, 2015.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

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Christian Fantasy Author Lorilyn Roberts: How Do I End My Memoir?

Christian Fantasy Author Lorilyn Roberts: How Do I End My Memoir?

What is Meant by “Authentic Voice” in Writing Young Adult Books?

By Lorilyn Roberts 

When I was a young girl, a black lady named Helen used to take care of me while my mother worked. Helen’s voice was soothing and loving; when I heard her voice, I knew I was safe. Later, my mother remarried and we moved away to another city. I used to think about her and wistfully wished I could hear that voice call my name one more time: “Lori.”

One afternoon, quite by surprise, I arrived home from high school and I heard a voice from the past in the basement of our home laughing and talking to my mother. I stopped for a moment, thinking, could it be? But it was too outlandish to even consider, I brushed it aside as impossible. Then I heard my mom call me, “Lori, come see who came to visit you.”

I rushed down the stairs and there she was. Helen said, “Lori, it’s so good to see you.” My first thought was that her voice sounded exactly the way I remembered it from a decade earlier, a sweet sound, distinctively hers no matter how long I went without hearing it. That made an impression on me that I have never forgotten. All those years, I had longed to hear her once more and thought I never would. If I heard her voice again today, I would recognize it as Helen’s.

To me, that is an authentic voice – one which is identified as belonging to one person and no one else. It translates into writing. We must each have our own unique voice. My voice should identify me as Lorilyn Roberts.

While I think it’s good to read and examine others’ style of writing, we should strive to develop our own. I am still playing around with my own style because writing fiction is much harder for me than nonfiction. I have come to realize, though, it’s what I feel comfortable with, what flows naturally, and where my creative process takes me. It’s what I was born with. God gave me a voice to talk; He has given me a voice with which to write. 

Involved in that is a process of learning. Children have to learn how to talk, and that’s much easier and more natural than learning to write, but they still have to learn. In the same way, writers need to develop their own authentic voice and not be afraid to claim it. They should not try to write something intentionally or unintentionally that imitates someone else.

A great example of voice by a young adult is Anne in The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank. Anne was writing to “kitty,” her best friend. Her spunky personality shone without pretense or excuse for why she felt the way she did. She was comfortable in her own skin. There is a term called self-actualization, where one uses everything he or she is to become what he or she was created to be. During Anne’s confinement, she was able to verbalize her innermost fears, hopes, dreams, ambitions, and little triumphs as she learned to rise above the horrific situation she was in and “cope.” 

It’s a tribute to her that such a young girl could come so far into understanding so much about herself and who she was. The amazing thing, which was a God-given gift, was that she had the capacity to write it down so that future generations could empathize and understand what she went through. It’s a great achievement, I believe, in the use of authentic voice, to come so close to knowing Anne Frank and yet never having met her. 

Her authenticity came out in the graphic descriptions of the people in the attic; what it was like to live there for two years locked away from society; their everyday struggles, from using the bathroom to what they ate to what they did to occupy their time; the frequent references to the war and who was winning; their fears of being discovered and their constant squabbles among each other; and even Anne’s innermost thoughts about love and sexuality.

In one way or another, I could relate from my own life experience. I knew she was real and what she suffered was genuine. I wanted to read more to learn what would happen. I was engaged and transported back to a war fought before I lived. I wanted to save Anne and her family. It was hard for me to believe she died before I was even born. This book is a masterpiece.

A third-person narrative can also have an authentic voice, but it needs to be so close to the person’s feelings, thoughts, and actions that you can’t tell the difference. If a book is well written, I won’t even notice if it’s first person or third person unless I stop and think about it.

More than any other genre, young adult books need an authentic voice. YA readers need to be able to like the protagonist and identify with her feelings, thoughts, and goals. That makes writing for young adults challenging but very gratifying when well done.