How My Life Became Bigger Than Basketball
By Dwyane Wade
Publication Date: September 4, 2012
In A FATHER FIRST: How My Life Became Bigger than Basketball, Dwyane Wade,
a current co-captain for the Miami HEAT and eight-time NBA All-Star, shares
insights on his life both on and off the court with a large focus on
fatherhood, a topic of deep personal significance. Wade reveals his
thoughts on fatherhood, detailing his personal experiences as a parent, and
tracing his transformation from being the child of a single parent to now
serving as one himself.
In the book, Wade opens up and reveals for the first time the intimate and
traumatic details of his growing up and also the prolonged battle with his
ex-wife for sole custody of his two sons, touching on:
· His mother’s struggles as a drug addict, and his growing up in
Chicago among gangs, drug dealers and police raids (including a
gut-wrenching story of young Dwyane finding a dead body in a garbage
can)
· How he pulled himself up from such a life, thrived through
basketball and maintained his devotion to his mother
· He has never talked about the prolonged battle with his ex-wife
over sole custody of his two sons and why doing so was the most
important thing in his life; and how the constant media attention has
affected him and his boys
· His advocacy for fathers taking a strong role in their children’s
lives; his main reason for writing the book is to help fathers see how
they can do this and to see that they and their children can benefit
from it enormously
· His childhood hero, his sister Tragil, who got him out of the mean
Chicago streets, placed him with their father, and in many ways rescued
him from a life that could have gone the wrong way
· The coaches who served as role models and father figures through
high school, college and the NBA and how much they meant to him
· The HEAT's successful 2006 NBA Championship, with Dwyane being
awarded Finals MVP, and his gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
In March 2011, in a landmark legal decision, Wade earned sole custody of
his two young sons, effectively setting a new precedent for professional
male athletes. Most recently, Dwyane teamed up with President Barack
Obama to support his Fatherhood & Mentoring Initiative, a national
parenting program geared toward encouraging fathers to become more involved
in the lives of their children.
“As a child, I grew up with aspirations to one day be a professional
basketball player, and I am living that dream every day as a proud member
of the Miami HEAT,” said Wade. “However, the daily role I play in the lives
of my two children is the single most significant undertaking of my life,
and the job I take most seriously. While my basketball career has brought
me many rewards – including an NBA Championship in 2006 and an Olympic Gold
Medal in the 2008 Summer Games, my children are the two greatest gifts of
my life.”
A FATHER FIRST also highlights Wade’s phenomenal basketball career—from
his early days shooting hoops in Chicago, to training
at Marquette University, to emerging as an unheralded draft pick to
receiving MVP honors in the 2006 NBA Finals. In a narrative that spans two
generations of the Wade family, Wade’s book encourages parents to lead by
example and make being a caregiver the top priority.
For more information on Dwyane Wade, please visit http://www.dwyanewade.com
">www.dwyanewade.com.
About the Book:
A FATHER FIRST: How My Life Became Bigger Than Basketball
By Dwyane Wade
William Morrow Hardcover; On Sale: September 4, 2012
ISBN: 9780062136152; Price: $26.99; 384 Pages
*Also available in e-book and digital audio formats
For more on this and other titles from HarperCollins Publishers, please
visit http://www.harpercollins.com">
