I Never Played Catch with My Father

By: Gene Cartwright

Narrated by: M. P. MacDougall

Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

This celebrated, beloved novel led to Gene's Oprah Show Invitation. I Never Played Catch With My Father. From Prolific, Pulitzer-nominated Author Gene Cartwright.

This novel, based on a true story, is about more than baseball and about more than fathers and sons. You cannot listen to it and ever be the same. This novel is also about mothers and daughters, parents and children, about time that passes all too quickly. This heart-touching, inspiring saga reveals that there are no insignificant events in a child's life.

James T. Phalen is a wealthy baby-boomer with a lifelong love of baseball and a passion for helping those less fortunate. When he realizes that all his wealth and fame cannot purchase a memory never shared, he leaves his executive suite and catches the "last train home" to try and complete the circle with his ailing father.

Play with your children. The years pass in the blink of an eye. See This Video: youtube.com/watch?v=xuStnpR-VjE

Author's website: GeneCartwrightBooks.com

©1995, 1996, 2010, 2015, 2022 Eugene G. Cartwright (P)2024 Eugene G. Cartwright

Love it, A must!

Always on the look out for this Author! It’s as if he writes you right into the story, the story is heart warming and you get invested from the first few minutes!

Riveting!

It was hard to put down once I started reading 📚 I am particularly fond of chapter 8 😉

Far Beyond Expectations. More Than a Novel.

Having read I Never Played Catch With My Father when it was released in hardcover, I thought I had already experienced this heart-touching and deeply insightful story. I thought I understood what made Oprah embrace this novel and invite the author to her show. Wrong. I had only scratched the surface. Listening to this audiobook version was like seeing it with eyes wide-open although mine were mostly shut—allowing the words to paint the scenes and shower my senses with the emotions this gifted author intended. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll not go further here.

Honestly, I placed myself in this masterfully written story and permitted myself to simply enjoy the ride, feel every turn, sense every bump in the road, and embrace every sensation. I found myself examining my own life, and making discoveries hidden for decades. I normally listen to audiobooks while multitasking, but this time I shut myself away from distractions, and at times with my favorite Chardonnay.

I'll stop here, or I think this will become a tome instead of a review. In closing, I came to know more about James Theodore Phalen—his life, his inner being, and his outward persona than my own husband. And we've been happily married for 40 years. Don't let him read this.

A Great Experience

Jim became a vital part of my 45-minute morning commute into the office.

The author’s attention to the details of what was in front of his main character in each moment accounted for is what drew me in.

I had moments of disbelief from what I was hearing. Then there were those moments of adoration as Jim dropped gem after gem after gem in narrating his life.

“All things are relative to individual circumstances.”

“I would rather be my brothers employer than my brothers keeper”

Struggling at 40! I listened to this audio at 41, am a married Black Woman, Wife & Mother. I’m at the far end of the stick from the journey of the main character but felt very connected to him.

“To escape confronting these realities, I have maintained a state of perpetual motion Not permitting myself more than a moment to pause and reflect until now.”
Yes! Jim was constantly dropping Gems wether he intended to or now. (wink wink)

Phalen eventually felt like a friend, especially while driving in the car for extended periods of time. This audio title bumped a couple of favored podcasts out of their ranks. I begin to want to listen to the wisdom of my good friend Phalen instead.

Great experience!