Overview

"""I believe that we will win."" In the summer of 2014, Tim Howard became an overnight sensation after more than ten years as one of America's leading professional soccer players. His record-breaking 15 saves for the United States national team against Belgium in the World Cup electrified a nation that had only recently woken up to the Beautiful Game after decades of hibernation. An estimated TV audience of 21 million viewers in the U.S.--larger than those of the NBA and NHL finals--watched Howard's heroic performance against the heavily favored Belgians in which he repelled shots with his hands, feet, legs, knees, and even his signature long beard. Suddenly an athlete who had toiled in relative anonymity for much of his career became the star of his own Internet meme (""Things Tim Howard Could Save"" from Janet Jackson's ""wardrobe malfunction"" to the Titanic), and fielded personal calls from the likes of President Barack Obama (""You guys did us proud. . . . I don't know how you are going to survive the mobs when you come back home, man. You'll have to shave your beard so they don't know who you are""). In this inspiring and candid memoir, the beloved U.S. and Everton goalkeeper finally allows himself to do something that he would never do on the field: he drops his guard. Howard opens up for the first time about how a hyperactive kid from New Jersey with Tourette Syndrome defied the odds to become one of the greatest American keepers in history. He recalls his childhood, being raised by a single mother who instilled in him a love of all sports--he was also a standout high school basketball player--and a devout faith that helped him cope with a disorder that manifested itself with speech and facial tics, compulsive behavior, and extreme sensitivity to light, noise, and touch. The Keeper is also a chronicle of the personal sacrifices he's made for his career, including the ultimate dissolution of Howard's marriage--a casualty of what he calls his ""addiction to winning""--and its most painful consequence: his separation from his two children. A treat for soccer fans, The Keeper will even captivate readers who are unfamiliar with the sport but want to know what makes a world-class athlete different from the rest of us--and where that difference gives way to common ground."

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9781481531450

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Tim Howard is the goalkeeper for the English Premier League club Everton and the United States Men's National Team. In July 2014, Howard broke the record for the most saves in a World Cup game against Belgium. He also works for NBC Sports as a commentator for the network's English Premier League coverage. He splits his time between Liverpool, England, and Tennessee. Ali Benjamin has written for the Boston Globe Magazine, Martha Stewart's Whole Living online, and top academic publications. J. D. Jackson is a theater professor, aspiring stage director, and award-winning audiobook narrator. He is a classically trained actor, and his television and film credits include roles on House, ER, Law & Order, Hack, Sherrybaby, Diary of a City Priest, and Lucky Number Slevin. He is the recipient of more than a dozen Earphones Awards for narration and an Odyssey Honor for G. Neri's Ghetto Cowboy, and he was also named one of AudioFile magazine's Best Voices of the Year for 2012 and 2013. An adjunct professor at Los Angeles Southwest College, he has an MFA in theater from Temple University.

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