Precerpt from Nothing So Broken (Richards) - home run
Available now on pre-order! Nothing So Broken - war, memoir, more. Today we provide a precerpt (an excerpt from a book not yet published) -
Coach
Shepard, or ‘Shep’ to most, wanted me to do five push-ups every night during
the commercial breaks of my favorite TV show, which was probably Three’s
Company at that time. It was my final year of little league and I hated it.
I wasn’t on Johnny’s team with Mr. Bott coaching. They weren’t any good, but
they had fun. No, I played for the Millbury Credit Union juggernaut with the
hyper-competitive coaches. We won all the time, but I didn’t smile much. And my
parents had to talk me out of quitting on several occasions.
I also struggled with the
weight of the bat, tapping slow, and sad ground balls to first or second base
for easy outs. Then, Shep assigned the push-up homework.
Toward the end of the season
at East Millbury Park, another victory well in hand, I stepped up to bat
against Paul Norman, a good friend. Early in the count, the ball got away from
him and zipped in high and tight, sending me diving into the dirt. After
brushing myself off, I dug back into the box, a little fire in my belly,
fingers tightening around the bat. Five push-ups.
I hit his next pitch with
the “sweet spot” of the barrel, barely feeling the impact, and launched the
ball into a high, lazy pop fly that cleared the fence in left-center field by a
few inches.
I can still hear Shep’s
gravelly voice among the cheering, the infield dirt crunching under my cleats
as I held onto my helmet to keep it from wobbling off my head. Rounding second
base, I faced my teammates and coaches on the bench and the parents in the
bleachers behind them.
A standing ovation!
For me!
Off to the right, up on the
hill in a lawn chair, my father sat alone with his nose buried in a novel.
Probably Heinlen or Robert E. Howard. He went to most games but never sat with
the other parents, always off to the side and usually a few feet behind the
crowd. He enjoyed his solitude. He enjoyed his books.
As I approached third, he
looked up and processed my slow jog around the bases.
“Heyyy!!” he yelled and shot
his hands straight up in the air. “Home run!!”
My body felt weightless.
I’m sure I jabbered to him
in the car all the way to the Ice Cream Barn after the game, the vanilla
soft-serve cone and chocolate jimmies shutting me up for maybe ten minutes.
In the shadow of loss, a path to healing begins.
Chris Richards grew up in a small New England mill town, where life was tough and loyalty ran deep. At just 19, his world was shaken when a close friend was left permanently disabled by a devastating accident. At the same time, Chris’s father began to show troubling symptoms linked to his service in the Vietnam War—unseen wounds that would slowly unravel the man he once knew.
The weight of watching two people he loved unravel under the strain of trauma and physical decline left deep scars—ones Chris carried silently into adulthood. For years, he buried his grief and fear, never imagining that one day, facing his own crisis, he would turn to their stories for strength.
This powerful and moving memoir explores the enduring impact of trauma, the quiet power of resilience, and how even the most broken lives can become sources of inspiration. Born of hardship, shaped by loss, and redeemed through reflection, Chris’s story is a testament to the human spirit and the healing that can come from finally confronting the past.
Keywords:
New England memoir, Vietnam War legacy, trauma and healing memoir, coming-of-age true story, memoir about father and son, real-life story of resilience, personal story of grief and growth, emotional healing journey, memoir of small-town life, family trauma memoir, impact of war on families, veterans and PTSD family stories, intergenerational trauma, inspirational memoir about loss, adult child of a veteran, memoir set in a mill town, friendship and tragedy true story, memoir about overcoming fear and grief, how to heal from family trauma, memoir about growing up with a veteran parent, finding hope through personal crisis, true story of surviving emotional loss, lessons from a father's wartime wounds, memoir about friendship, trauma, and redemption
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