BIO

Deford has authored fifteen books, including The Entitled, a novel about an old baseball manager, a young superstar, and the glamorous realm of modern sport, and An American Summer, a novel that explores the friendship between a young boy and a young woman with polio in the summer of ’54. Deford is widely regarded as the consummate sportswriter of his era, most notably for his award-winning work in Sports Illustrated. His daughter’s struggle with cystic fibrosis, which is poignantly documented in his book, Alex: The Life of a Child, led him to serve as national chairman of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for fifteen years. He is now chairman emeritus of that organization. Frank can be reached at frank6de@aol.com.

STORY EXCERPT

One more thing. Alex always called me “my little Daddy.” It was very appropriate because the tables were often reversed. It almost had that upside-down flavor of her being the parent and me being the child. It’s curious but I, too, have a genetic lung condition. It’s not cystic fibrosis, but I may have to eventually deal with some of the same challenges that she dealt with so magnificently. I just know that whenever my time comes, I will be so ashamed of myself unless I can be as courageous as she was.