Life Is Not an Accident
Author(s): Jay Williams
New York Times Bestseller
This big-hearted memoir by the most promising professional basketball player of his generation details his rise to NBA stardom, the terrible accident that ended his career and plunged him into a life-altering depression, and how he ultimately found his way out of the darkness.
Ten years ago, Jay Williams was at the beginning of a brilliant professional basketball career. The Chicago Bulls top draft pickand the second pick of the entire drafthe had the great Michael Jordans locker. Then he ran his high-performance motorcycle head-on into a light pole, severely damaging himself and ending his career.
In this intense, hard-hitting, and deeply profound memoir, Williams talks about the accident that transformed him. Sometimes, the memories are so fresh, he feels like hell never escape the past. Most days, he finds a quiet peace as a commentator on ESPN and as an entrepreneur who can only look back in astonishment at his younger selfa kid who had it all, thought he was invincible, and lost everything . . . only to gain new wisdom.
Williams also shares behind the scenes details of life as an All-American. He tells it straight about the scandalous recruiting process and his decision to return to Duke and Ka man who taught him about accountabilityto finish his education. He also speaks out about corruptionamong coaches, administrators, players, and alumniand about his time in the NBA, introducing us to a dark underworld culture in the pros: the gambling, drugs, and sex in every city, with players on every team.
Review(s):
A lot of athletes have been to the mountaintop and back to the bottom in the course of their careers, and their stories end there. But not Jays. He was determined to build a life beyond basketball no matter how many hard picks hed have to fight through.
From a freakish motorcycle accident that derailed his destiny to overcoming the residue from it that left a severe mental and emotional stain, Jays story is about strength, resilience, and redemption. Life Is Not an Accident is a surprisingly honest and revealing account that will inspire and resonate with all.
Jay Williams has led a fascinating life, much of it in the public eye. But it is the very private side of the man through his breathtaking highs and startling lowsthat makes this gutsy, intimate, unflinchingly honest memoir impossible to put down.
An amazingly courageous and inspirational book.
ISBN:9780062327994
