First published 2006
Christine Brennan chronicles her journey from a sports-obsessed girl in Toledo, Ohio to becoming America's most recognized female sports columnist. Growing up in the 1960s and 70s, she collected baseball cards while other girls played with dolls, memorized statistics, and attended games with her father Jim. He encouraged her passion and made her believe she belonged in sports, even when organized athletics offered few opportunities for girls before Title IX. Their shared love of rooting for underdogs created an unbreakable bond. At twenty-two, Brennan became the first female sportswriter at The Miami Herald, then broke barriers again as the first woman covering the Washington Redskins for The Washington Post. Her career includes major stories like the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan scandal and the 2002 Olympics figure skating controversy. This memoir reveals how a father's unwavering support helped his daughter carve out space in a male-dominated field, proving that sometimes the best seat really is next to someone who believes in your dreams.
Genres: autobiography, sports, biography-memoir, journalism
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, inspirational, overcoming-adversity
Setting: Miami, Ohio, Toledo, Washington
Period: 1960s, 1970s, 2002
304 pages · Hardcover · Scribner