The Beautiful Dream: A Memoir

Canadian soccer player Hutchinson delivers a rote rundown of his path to athletic stardom in this unremarkable autobiography. Hutchinson was born in Ontario in 1983 and grew to love soccer thanks to his father, Dalton, who played recreationally in Trinidad. Dalton’s advice that Hutchinson approach soccer in a “more cerebral way” than his peers (anticipating rather than reacting; moving into position even when he didn’t have the ball) paid off—at 19, Hutchinson joined the Toronto Lynx, one of Canada’s newest A-League teams. Still, he played to many sparsely populated stadiums during his 20s, spending seasons in Sweden and Denmark before returning to Canada and being named the country’s player of the year several times in a row. The “beautiful dream” of the title describes Hutchinson’s invitation, in 2022, to play for Canada in the World Cup, despite pushing 40. Unfortunately, his flat description of the gameplay fails to capture the weight of his accomplishment (“It felt good to score for Canada again”). Descriptions of Hutchinson’s personal life, including marrying and starting a family, follow suit, with little wit or insight to enliven them. Even Hutchinson’s admirers are likely to find this lacking. Agent: Rick Broadhead, Rick Broadhead & Assoc. (Aug.)