Rudy—My Story

To get myself back in the practice of reading, I decided to pick a story that I could really get in to…one that I knew I would have a hard time putting it down. What better type of book than one about sports—particularly one about football?! The book I just read is more than the story of a kid who played football for one of the greatest collegiate teams ever, but about the determination that brought him to the point of getting to take the field…for all of 27 seconds in the final game of his senior season! The story is none other than Rudy Reuttiger, the dreamer who found a way into Notre Dame and whose hard work carried him to a place where people told him he would never get to go.

Daniel “Rudy” Reuttiger was one of 14 kids growing up in an industrial town outside Chicago in the 1950s. Nothing came easy for him, but Rudy was not a quitter. Despite his undiagnosed dyslexia, Rudy graduated from high school, completed a tour of duty in the Navy, and worked several jobs back at the power plant. His deep desire, however, was to attend Notre Dame and play on the football team. Through the help of key individuals and the determination to do his best, Rudy was able to fulfill his dreams. The book could have ended as he was carried off the field on his teammates’ shoulders (as it does in the movie version), but the real Rudy has more to tell. In “Rudy—My Story,” he talks about how the same persistence that was the backbone in his early life was essential years later in getting the blockbuster movie created. It’s actually quite remarkable that the film actually did get off the ground, considering how many obstacles had to be cleared away.

If you’re looking for a motivational read that inspires you to dream big and have faith that your dreams can happen, Rudy is proof positive that it doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get back up.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of “Rudy—My Story” through Book Sneeze, in exchange for my honest review.