I Beat the Odds; From Homelessness to The Blind Side and Beyond

Oher, Michael, with Yeager, Don

Published by Penguin Group, New York, NY, 2011

About this Item

xx, 250 pages. Inscribed on the half-title page by the author, Michael Oher. Inscription reads, "To Marta & Mark. Michael Oher 74." Small tear at bottom of title page. Michael Jerome Oher (ne้ Williams Jr.; born May 28, 1986) is a former American professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Mississippi, and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers. Oher earned unanimous All-American honors at Mississippi, and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. His life through his final year of high school and first year of college is one of the subjects of Michael Lewis' 2006 book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, and was featured in the Academy Award-winning 2009 film The Blind Side. Looking back on how he went from being a homeless child in Memphis to playing in the NFL, Michael shares the goals he had for himself in order to break out of the cycle of poverty, addiction, and hopelessness that trapped his family for so long. He recounts poignant stories of growing up in the projects, and running from child services and foster care over and over again in search of some familiarity. Eventually, he grasped onto to football as his ticket out of the madness, and worked hard to make his dream into a reality. Derived from a Kirkus review: Hulking NFL tackle and subject of the film The Blind Side blends practical advice with autobiography in this intimate ghetto-survival guide. With the help of former Sports Illustrated associate editor Yeager, Oher tells his often-compelling Horatio Alger story sans the entertainment-industry embellishment of the Hollywood version of his life in The Blind Side, first a book by Michael Lewis, then a popular movie. Oher's young life was shaped by an intense love for sports, especially basketball and football, but also profoundly affected by the netherworld of the ghettoes in Memphis. The author writes about having to cope with an absentee father and an undependable, crack-smoking mother, and about his time bouncing around the foster-care system and supporting himself through petty theft. Eventually, he made decent money selling newspapers on street corners. His major first steps out of the ghetto came in high school, when, despite early trouble with academics, Oher was accepted to the reputable private school Briarcrest. However, his intermittent homelessness didn't officially end until local Good Samaritan Leigh Ann Tuohy offered him the closest thing to a permanent residence he'd ever had. Tuohy's guardianship served as a launching pad for Oher's successful high-school athletic career, which led to a scholarship with the University of Mississippi and to an eventual first-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens. The book is strongest when Oher conveys his hard-won wisdom through specific examples and anecdotes from his life. When he dispenses more generalized advice, the narrative reads like a generic public-service announcement.

Seller Inventory # 79535

Bibliographic Details

• Title: I Beat the Odds; From Homelessness to The Blind Side and Beyond
• Publisher: Penguin Group, New York, NY
• Publication Date: 2011
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Printing [Stated].
• Condition: Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very good