Never Give Up

Tedy Bruschi's book is out. Here is an excerpt. Here is a review from a local journalist, Mark Farinella, who mentions:

If you're looking for Bruschi to tell secrets from the locker room or go into excruciatingly detailed depth about his personal life in the book, you've come to the wrong place. The book has enough personal detail to give you the general idea of what was going on in the Bruschi household during the height of the challenges faced by Tedy, wife Heidi and their children, without giving you the "too much information" feeling.

As for the portrayal of the Patriots' organization, there are a few moments when it's clear that Bruschi is walking on egg shells. It's obvious that Bruschi has no desire to bite the hand that feeds him - nor should he have much reason, because team owner Robert Kraft was supportive, particularly when it appeared that Bruschi would have to retire and a job was created for him in the organization.

Particularly in the case of the Denver press release, Bruschi felt the ownership was shifting responsibility away from the organization and placing it solely on Bruschi's shoulders as a means of covering the corporate rear end. Welcome to the NFL, kid.

But beyond that, Bruschi expresses a lot of love for Kraft and Bill Belichick in the book, and no one should expect anything less.

Now, I fully understand what Bruschi felt during his recovery, when he was cautioned by his doctors against picking up his young sons and carrying them to bed. The victim feels he is victimizing those who love him, even though that couldn't be further from the truth.

But at the time all this was happening, a lack of information contributed to what Bruschi saw as a lack of understanding. Many of us wrote columns wondering why Bruschi, with three Super Bowl rings, a lovely wife and three young boys, felt the need to risk his life by coming back.

Not every stroke victim will be as fortunate as Bruschi, and he recognizes that. But the proper information and a message of hope can be powerful tools in any recovery - whether it's the recovery of an iconic football player who made it back to the field against all odds, or a beloved family member for whom the ultimate victory would be recovering the ability to say "I love you" to his or her children.