There are not many books written by NBA stars which flash their personal life as well as professional life. Derek Fisher’s Character Driven (Life, Lessons and Basketball) is an exception. He totally engages the reader into his writing by giving a detailed
account of his life off and on the court.
The readers gets to know Fisher as a child, as a grown up and then his career as a basketball player starts. “Life, lessons and basketball” as the caption suggests, proves that Fisher has covered a great deal of subjects other than basketball.
This book is an autobiography on Derek Fisher, written by himself and was co-written by Gary Brozek. He shares a great deal of valuable knowledge that he learnt from life and puts them out on paper for others. That’s the best thing one can find in any book.
He shares his life experiences. One finds one’s self on a journey through Fisher’s childhood and then his teen age life starts and one actually feels like passing through the same phases.
The real essence of the book lies in how he has associated his life with the skill sets and philosophies that he has learnt during his career as a basketball player. He amalgamates his life with basketball and uses it in explaining life sets.
The book is touchy, witty and there is a hidden power of wisdom that speaks through his writing. He writes about his romance and how he met his wife Candace. He grabs the attention of the reader when he writes how he found his infant daughter Tatum being
diagnosed for retinoblastoma, a rare eye cancer. This is when the reader finds how hard it is for a basketball player to win a match in such a hard time but it was Derek Fisher who made it even under that pressure.
He was in Utah Jazz by the time he found out about his daughter’s illness. No one can ever forget that game when Fisher showed up in the match when just 3:18 were left on the clock. He made a key defensive play and then went to get a 3 pointer and of course
won the match for his team at that time.
He gives a thorough account of his childhood years at Little Rock and writes about his family life as well. He gives an exciting insight into his introduction to basketball.
As the pages turn, one peeks in through the little child’s heart and his association with his family. He writes about his relationship with his mother and father and what lessons he learnt from both of them. He was an active child and this is what is evident
through his writing.
Fisher faced the same issues that a normal adolescent has. He explains how he encountered drugs and faced peer pressure during his teenage days. He explains on how he reattributed that phase and what he learnt in that time.
The book proceeds further and one reads about his days at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where he was a Communications student and played as a basketball guard too.
It is the last part of the book that can be of great help and value to the basketball lovers and Derek Fisher fans who want to have a microscopic look into his life as a basketball player.
The last quarter of the book is dedicated to his career in the NBA. This includes him being selected as NBA Draft in 1996 by the Lakers. He also writes about the brief time he spent at the Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors and then his return to the Los
Angeles Lakers.
Fisher adds some really cool tips on free throw shooting and defence techniques too. He has a gift of making the same book ideal for readers of every age whether they be parents, kids, teenagers or anybody else.
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