I can't think of a more fitting book to launch during the World Series than Mark Henry Miller's Hooked on Life: Hooked on Life: Reflections on Fishing, Baseball, and the Other Stuff of Life (Whitefish Press, 2010). This is a book very unlike any I have published before, but is something I have been meaning to do since I started the Whitefish Press five years ago.
It's a book about fishing and faith. It's also a book about baseball and faith. By now, if you've spent more than a couple minutes perusing my blog, you'll know these are three things I love.
And Mark knoweth what he speaks, having recently retired from a 44 year ministry. A graduate of Stanford (where he played baseball) and Yale, Miller writes in an engaging and direct style, as if he is standing in a room speaking to you. He is also a very accomplished angler, and the majority of these stories involve the life lessons we learn from being on the water.
At its core, what Mark teaches us is to celebrate life, to revel in the little blessings -- whether they are a rainbow in a stream, a salmon from the back of a charter boat, a crisp breaking ball, or the joy one gets from helping another in need.
Don't you think we need more of that in life?
By the way, Mark was such an accomplished pitcher he was invited to spring training by the Dodgers in the 1960s and got to be in camp with Sandy Koufax and other legends...
There are more than enough fishing stories for those whose primary goal is a good book about fish; there is an abundance of inspiration for those who seek it. For most, the combination of the two will be a delight. If you read this book and don't come out feeling better, start over--you've missed something.
The book is $14.95 and more information can be found by Clicking Here.
-- Dr. Todd
