An African Rebound : A Novel (Paperback)

A Deep, Thought-Provoking Novel of Love, Loss, Civil Unrest, and Basketball

It is 1989, and Jim Keating has hit rock bottom. He’s lost his wife to cancer, his house to near bankruptcy, and his job as a college basketball coach to an extreme misunderstanding. He has also just about lost his mind, having slipped into a bout of serious depression. In an attempt to start life over, Jim returns home to Worcester. In high school and college, Jim had been a star athlete and went on to become a successful basketball coach. Throughout the years, Jim’s passion for basketball and commitment to the players never faltered. Recognizing this, an old friend makes Jim an offer designed to help him restart his career—and take hold of his life.

Jim soon arrives in Burundi, Africa, where he has been asked to create a basketball initiative that will bring the warring Hutu and Tutsi tribes together peacefully. While scouting for possible players, Jim discovers fourteen-year-old Leonard Tangishaka, an extraordinary seven-foot athlete with an unlimited potential for basketball. Jim envisions future success against the Rwandan National Team and maybe even an Olympic appearance. Unfortunate and mysterious events soon shatter Jim’s dreams of success and simultaneously increase the probability of violence escalating in Burundi. With the help of those around him, Jim must move forward and stay positive if he is to bring peace to the nation and inner peace to himself. An African Rebound is a deep, thought-provoking novel of love, loss, civil unrest, and basketball.

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