Author Description

If you want to be introduced to the demands and delights of basketball, I am sure this book will satisfy you. If you want a book to speak eloquently about finding and losing a great love, about proud parenthood and passionate competition, rush to get this book. Simply put, it is a wonderful book about the wonder of growing up African American, female, ambitious, and successful. I laughed and cried with this book and was pleased. You go girl! Maya Angelou Coach Vivian Stringer is a pillar of strength who always stands tall. I m inspired by her, both on and off the court, and you will be too. President Bill Clinton What a story! In a way that touches me very personally, I see in Coach Stringer a mother s love and I know that love is the kind of leadership that can change the world. Michael Jordan Love, honesty, respect, integrity: If you use these ingredients to build strong character there you have C. Vivian Stringer s story, and so beautifully written. Bill Cosby Publishers Weekly Move over, Horatio Alger. Stringer's inspiring story of rising to the top through hard work and the love of a close-knit family is one of the strongest sports memoirs in recent years. The oldest child in a large family that stressed education, teamwork and dignity, Stringer manifested all those values in nearly four decades as a basketball coach. As the first coach in NCAA women's history to bring three different teams to the Final Four, Stringer has loads of fantastic stories to share, particularly the turnaround that resulted in the 2006-2007 Rutgers women moving from the bottom of their division to the top, winning the nation's respect even before their dignified response to Don Imus's slurs. This memoir is also about winning off the court, as Stringer describes the heartrending trials that have tested her endurance and faith: a major crisis with each of her three children; the sudden death of her beloved husband in 1991; and her own quiet struggle