Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Like Any Normal Day: A Story of Devotion
Like Any Normal Day: A Story of Devotion
Like Any Normal Day: A Story of Devotion
Ebook277 pages3 hours

Like Any Normal Day: A Story of Devotion

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

Winner of the 2013 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing, Like Any Normal Day is a profound, powerful narrative of a golden boy's tragedy, a woman's unlived life, and a brother's complicated devotion.

In the mid-1970s, brothers Buddy and Jimmy Miley were close, both on the verge of impressive athletic careers. A promising high school quarterback, Buddy's potential was cut short by an injury that left him quadriplegic. Immobile and imprisoned in his body for decades, Buddy would watch life pass by from his wheelchair, living at home under his mother's and brother's care, and wondering what his life could have been.

Buddy and Jimmy visited special hospitals and traveled to Lourdes in search of a miracle, never losing hope as they searched for a cure. But as Buddy suffered increasing pain, and also realized that he would never be able to walk again—and never prove himself capable of being loved by Karen, a woman he'd first met in high school—he asked Jimmy to help him end his life.

Beautifully written, both heart-wrenching and hopeful, Mark Kram Jr.'s Like Any Normal Day explores the important bonds between families and the depths of what we're willing to do for those we love.

Like Any Normal Day is the winner of the 2013 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 24, 2012
ISBN9781466802216
Like Any Normal Day: A Story of Devotion
Author

Mark Kram

Mark Kram, Jr. won the 2013 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing for his first book, Like Any Normal Day: A Story of Devotion. Articles by him have appeared in The Best American Sports Writing and will be included in the forthcoming anthology, The Great American Sports Page. The Society of Professional Journalists honored him with the 2011 Sigma Delta Chi Award for feature writing. Formerly a sports writer in Philadelphia, Detroit, and Baltimore, he is the son of the late Mark Kram, the acclaimed journalist for Sports Illustrated and author of Ghosts of Manila: The Fateful Blood Feud between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. He has edited a collection of his father’s magazine pieces, Great Men Die Twice: The Selected Works of Mark Kram. He lives outside Philadelphia.

Related to Like Any Normal Day

Related ebooks

Personal Memoirs For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Like Any Normal Day

Rating: 4.142857142857143 out of 5 stars
4/5

7 ratings2 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This nonfiction story reads like a novel and has all the elements of great storytelling. Through the story of Buddy Miley and his devoted family, we are asked to consider such important themes as right of self-determination, self-sacrifice, and familial bonds. It's not a sports book but a family book, very well written by an award-winning journalist. Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    "Like Any Normal Day" is the story of Buddy Miley, an athletic teenager who got hurt playing football and was paralyzed. He persevered as long as he could and, then, made the decision to contact Dr. Jack Kevorkian and, with the doctor's assistance, die and end his pain and suffering. It's a compelling and thought-provoking story that will stay with you long after you finish the book.

Book preview

Like Any Normal Day - Mark Kram

2abook_preview_excerpt.html}\ےƑ;*D1"9ZVCjQ4 ~G?/s2rtR'/Տz1cp< hfL?Xe\¾[N>jʅT1M*sh^vTO\ A]ES]/8~&b5W5dl<4*&*[7@OԪ(]c҇zj7X# M٫V.*,ni}_5agP}{ #o=VjX!P=O`Pbc~:z]DTR&;acaS-l\,*bP6|Hn#qp}V)l̙p5M Fg܈)BVS3WuVn 1 F[z EJ[5,ʻuwŃOčGzөiF`]'z9D ,*:R9!j;խ{nrJ=l^HmXMU;V7# 51;/Z).ۢxSgDc"OE:wBK?"M+zMS:l#E.=ߏoiw~T= /T 4֏A7 k0^D8şF;;oa`bZ LQ80`8kcX]a_X;z8vZwfdAPd`]I`+WVoyg;•=v m[};^j|P;^NY C*nsĖ5knN/D8?8sЅO@ )X55QF E6 ީ*AfUtᣯol7b"'~B}۝Ayp ?WAOX% okT='y5Cq53[* ]$Od p)-&y}x%)Nx+ր x@1\Sޤq^e|lyi. h ƙ(yٻzU?3!>?{uptT5<!E5!؛"49‘=$4nLPkg#|4xg[=‘vM6:1t 66q \5W"ՑWcOyMKCN0V{K{ZV,&V/A\v#0*e<yzZȫ(U6'Lm/2" T@ $hg+YH .j-n5;t'Dv]aӠZg.CŪ|~vV,Q~g6@dL8)LcUsp KI,q[G'Q̓xW셐7$ǰ@UE#={= z/_]gn]ߞPNЧ8_B /7Eˉ[ӒV"E =z7 5P"GF +{ђpGz2k4'^ 6F5}d!&'iѝ ~HB40M$.aO+픶/˒k?2&/VOsO^icsAKQuLAw8MB` 5W/EWx*'}l)a7[<NPd2OO$$v}ēfiJo{3W.ֲM r9 f}̈́-D:LdJFXÓԒ^qs8՜LBz=3Ly1!ˑ  !Zݰ2eɱI޽ž% e_Ai Yt><υY@rŔBc #W^W=w }\:c5Sϋ-[۫2HY7,  |^I$ZQ[䯙1&,#x 9` :z9'BKo ({;LJ&D?Ѐtu,iʥ]L, Ԣ5`r:;{GN5D$@?ųQCXlewwozlc\= Y[, ZS2Wޱ<ˈr9X5Rovgrz żV?M}9r))5-[9ZU[f4Qo#>g/;ʉI^: VvSC~2 -w~9xY0r+<\&k6 ̿Q&iih 6ox_5R*6i?S8ƬU>č`Dd5kFi-NFm)Իi}W./hYaG`|/}<-)Sp!J4BCa 'U^xn_4Uj懻 Tąf">FB{HlSORd] d4t%BpA=(B/ 1- Ij?s2m̉:$-Mp;Hl4}?a=K1Lфzه6N6gH(F?M~JZێ"0YV͝z~jF/ewF+,ܺZih &w^aէ@l,x`!:%C4܍89kc:6]IRXtSG0qQDa PvL#>c/gWFjtP~Y%F y+jKT=1]%w^+IDX Q_iʭ_'U!fTJ KngٝwSwhn!Ǒ)մEn㱜["sjt:m¹Y;mJ؍էhcz0P``+ YN)Ak&k1JF FʢklsF-GXH֘&d + ]MH*e/UQqG]ZZA0%rh?7s*ɓS !!͇;;-;RV#2av|ڜB;WP^p3! $}RO+P;:DSt'|Si['lwfVzKjMkTGƱ~"uOv3ڼŬfc庺h<083c⁆: V#{ʺlPkʮb`!nօy8a+/>ii?f8J$#H<- #'݁d.詑3hG` ~4^R,^+Y#h/q^V4%%xr&m vK%b"A E<p=IktQ;8n+e얊96=&SV2qe0,8[q~ Ră̹YP2K<|!Ʀ:-RD'w1!Yz@ {Q̹2_^ݨ8h^Uc{CBDWJMn$PuՎ%MkY%QRE ,~W~AO60e^MzSIdc.RśR!0頓U{I=qsa`~<;R4gMbƒK[_vYX/wFMʍr7ThvNul2qAt VA/:;]^W ,Ǥ ^[ku8FiBj:f\R^S9&YyA
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1