No Excuses: Growing Up Deaf and Achieving My Super Bowl Dreams

Coleman’s humbling story of overcoming challenges to become the first legally deaf offensive player in NFL will pull at readers’ heart strings. Writing with Brotherton, he traces his childhood in California in the 1990s, complicated by family turmoil and his hearing problem, which was diagnosed when he was very young, and describes how his parents committed themselves to creating a normal life him. The athlete is very candid about his fears; he was obsessed with a dream of playing pro football after some promising college UCLA football seasons. Undeterred by tryouts and time on the practice squads of the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Giants, the undrafted Coleman finds a home with the Seattle Seahawks, where his deafness isn’t an issue. The highlight of this triumphant account is his sensitive retelling of his first full season in the NFL, the Seahawks’ victorious run to the 2014 Super Bowl, and the team’s celebration with the Vince Lombardi trophy. Agent: Steve Fischer, APA Agency. (Aug.)