New York City essayist Bob Brody only recently reached a milestone long overdue -- he's shown signs of finally resembling a full-fledged adult. In vignettes by turns heartbreaking, harrowing and hilarious, he chronicles his upbringing with deaf parents, getting stabbed in the chest five weeks after moving into his first apartment, and almost blowing his first date with his future wife thanks to a drunken remark. Here, too, Brody recounts his 10-year estrangement from his mother, confesses to committing a boyhood misdeed against his father, and reveals how a criminal running toward him and his wife with a gun in his hand forced him to prove once and for all how much he loved her. Ultimately,
Playing Catch with Strangers
celebrates Brody's still-ongoing struggle to achieve adulthood, revealing his occasional successes -- and frequent failures -- trying to be a good son, a good husband, a good father, and yes, even a good son-in-law.
"
is a gem . . . filled with insights, wit, pithy observations, common sense and neighborly decency . . a delightful and thought-provoking memoir."
--Dan Rather, former CBS-TV anchor
"Bob Brody is a modern-day E.B. White who writes about everyday life with clarity, honesty and humor . . . a delight to read"
--Bob Guccione Jr., former editor of
Spin
magazine
"A good man, Bob Brody is also an observant one. Nothing escapes his vision. Growing up with deaf parents, he learned to listen hard to the world around him, and this poignant memoir is the result." --Philip Lopate, editor of
The Art of the Personal Essay
"In this winning memoir, Bob Brody wears his heart on both sleeves, along with a chip on both shoulders. He's every inch a diehard New Yorker, equally tender and tough."
--Nicholas Pileggi, author of
Goodfellas
"If you like to laugh or cry, rejoice! Bob Brody is here!"
--Lenore Skenazy, author of
Free-Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts with Worry
"I can't imagine a better Sunday morning than having the kids entertain themselves, nursing a cup of coffee and settling down to pore over Bob Brody's essays."
--
Jill Smoker, author of
Confessions Of A Scary Mommy
"Brody offers us ringside seats to an engrossing journey through his life with unflinching honesty and quirky charm."
is full of wonder, regrets, and ultimately love." --Danielle Offri, MD, author of
What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear