Review: Shattered

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Shattered by Frank Pastore.  I vaguely remembered him pitching for the Twins in 1986 when I was a student at the University of Minnesota.  Vaguely.  But I really did not know much of anything about his story.

One thing I have found, though, is that I like stories about sports heroes -- real sports heroes, not just the famous great players, but ones I want my boys to look up to.  So I dug in.

I read the first couple of chapters.  And starting with chapter 3 ("Fat Kids Can Dream Too") I was hooked, barely putting the book down from that point on.

An easygoing style, with lots of great anecdotes -- some happy, many sad, some downright scary -- I found it easy to relate to Frank's story at times.  Even when I couldn't relate to the things going on in his life, some of the big questions he had really clicked.  He is candid about some of the miserable things he experienced, and about some of the miserable decisions he made.  His relationship with his parents wasn't magically cured when he became a Christian... and I really liked that he talked about that.

Reading about a family whose lives were totally transformed by their newfound faith was inspiring.  Reading that even after that conversion, they still had those "shattered" times was inspiring too.  I felt like I was actually reading about a real person who has endured real struggles and real disappointments.  Which, of course, I was.


Disclaimer:   I received this book for free from Tyndale House Publishers.  No other compensation was received.  The fact that I received a complimentary product does not guarantee a favorable review.