Published by Zondervan on January 12, 2021
Genres: Non-Fiction, Christian Life, Sports
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For anyone ready to move their life forward, from tragedy, personal failure, unfair circumstances, or just a sense of being stuck, baseball legend and bestselling author Darryl Strawberry offers transformational practices and the tangible hope that you can enjoy a future filled with power, purpose, and freedom.
Darryl Strawberry has seen it all--the highs and lows of an intense career as a Major League Baseball all-star, drug addiction, marriage challenges, prison time, and battles with cancer. With honesty and transparency, Strawberry shares the same foundational principles that transformed his life from the inside out--the power of prayer, cultivating healthy friendships, weathering trials without losing heart, refreshing the way you think, and letting God change your life for good. Ultimately, he'll help you discover and trust the redemptive process of making small, daily decisions to follow God into a life of faith, health, and freedom.
Strawberry weaves compelling stories from his own life with those of others he met through his speaking and ministry work across the nation. These uplifting testimonies will inspire you with the reminder that God's power can renew any life, no matter what has happened. With scriptural insights and real-life examples, Strawberry celebrates the miracles God works in us for healing, cleansing, and new beginnings.
Strawberry's life story is proof that you can overcome life's adversities one decision, one step at a time. It's time to turn your season around.
Darryl Strawberry was living the dream. The first overall MLB draft pick in 1980, Strawberry quickly moved through the ranks to become a fan-favorite perennial all-star whose career track was compared to Hank Aaron. But with fame and money came temptation. Strawberry’s cocaine addiction grew more and more difficult to hide. The latter part of his career held some success, but constant legal and financial troubles matched with his increasing addictions and a good, but not great end to his career.
In 1999, Darryl devoted his life to Jesus and began the process of cleaning up his life. In Turn Your Season Around, Darryl draws on that past to give readers a blueprint to do the same in their own lives. Strawberry’s advice is fundamental, but solid. It’s broad enough for everyone, but specific enough that you’ll find an application for your particular situation.
Strawberry’s writing style is a bit corny, but corny in an amusing and memorable way. His habit of taking baseball acronyms and repurposing them for Christian purposes is the prime example. You like RBIs (runs batted in)? Well, how about Jesus wanting you to seek a Reality Beyond Imagination.
The most impactful chapter, in my opinion, is where he talks about the purposes of scars. He encourages people to not forget their past, no matter how bad it is, because it’s a reminder of God’s grace. Scars are the experience we can use to keep others from walking into danger.
He also writes in an early chapter about redefining your identity. As a millionaire baseball player, Strawberry’s identity came in his athletic prowess. When that ended, Strawberry was left without an identity. Discovering his identity in Christ, a rock-solid identity that will never fade, was a crucial step in his recovery process.
Turn Your Season Around is a great book for baseball fans looking for a fresh way to begin the new year. Strawberry writes out of his own pain and experience, being both personal and pastoral, as he encourages readers to find hope in Jesus.