Paulo's Book Club: "Straw: Finding My Way"

"Straw: Finding My Way" is not a book about baseball. It's a book about Darryl Strawberry's life.
Most of the book covers his long spiral down, but the final few chapters focus on his recovery.

When this book came out some lascivious details of his days with the Mets were released, but if that's why you read this book, then you are going to be disappointed.

Many people get frustrated listening to people who have led troubled lives feeling as if they blame their problems on a troubled past. Strawberry describes his abusive relationship with his father (which came to a head when he pointed a shotgun at his wife and kids) but is careful not to blame that for everything he did.

Eventually things came full circle and Strawberry -- high on drugs -- held his own family at gunpoint. But even that wasn't enough to bring him to his senses.

Two failed marriages, several failed stints in rehab, and one incredibly discarded baseball career weren't enough to make him change his ways. Even a battle with cancer couldn't get Strawberry to stay off drugs.

And that's why so many are skeptical to believe that this is the time he has finally turned his life around. But either way, it's worth reading about.