Vera Koo enrolled in a firearm safety course because she was afraid of guns. Goals are important to Vera, so she set hers high, completing the beginner's course, and eventually becoming the best shooter in her advanced class. Her instructor suggested she reach for an even higher goal with competitive shooting. And she did. With unflinching focus and determination, Vera became one of the most accomplished shooters ever. At age 70, she’s an eight-time women’s division winner of the prestigious Bianchi Cup Action Pistol Championship. She’s the first woman to place in the Top 20 in the Bianchi Cup competition. Vera’s story is more than that of a petite Asian woman becoming a top competitor in the male-dominated sport shooting world. It’s the story of a Chinese immigrant, raised in a traditional Chinese culture, where women deferred to their husbands and kept to their socio-economic class, succeeded in America. Vera is a successful businesswoman, accomplished athlete, and a loving wife and mother. It was never an ‘either or’ for Vera, it’s about meeting life’s challenges head-on with dogged persistence, grace, humility—and humor. With faith in herself and God, Vera has survived unexpected tragedies, tremendous hurt, and betrayal. And yet, her story is about hope, love, compassion, and forgiveness. Through all the twists and turns in her life, Vera shows us how the same grit that made her a world class athlete, helped her find joy. “Search for something you’re good at,” Vera says, "and it will take you far.” - Vera

Life in idyllic 1960s McAlisterville, Pennsylvania seems so promising to young Nelson Lauver. But undiagnosed dyslexia soon turns hope and optimism into struggle and shame as he falls far behind in school and is branded lazy. Confused, angry, and determined not to be the dumb kid, he chooses instead to become the bad kid- ending up a loner at odds with the world and with himself. Nelson resigns himself to being hopelessly different and joins the ranks of millions of Americans who try to hide their inability to read and write. At age 29, a chance encounter leads to a diagnosis of dyslexia and a profound rebirth. Ironically, the boy who was afraid to have anyone hear him try to read launches a new career as a writer, broadcaster and speaker. An estimated 10 to 20 percent of Americans suffer from a learning disability. 14 percent of American adults are considered functionally illiterate. More than personalizing these sobering statistics, this uplifting memoir goes beyond one man's account of rising above a learning disability. Most Unlikely to Succeed is an inspirational story that will speak eloquently and profoundly to anyone who has ever struggled to be heard, to be understood, or to make his or her way in the world.

31 years after the Perfect Game &– Villanova's shocking national championship upset over Georgetown &– Nova struck again with the Perfect Shot, taking down North Carolina in one of the most thrilling finishes in sports history. The shot and second national title in school history were the culmination of 15 years of Coach Jay Wright painstakingly building the unheralded program, through ups and downs, heartbreak and triumph. In Long Shots: Jay Wright, Villanova, and College Basketball's Most Unlikely Champion, ESPN senior writer Dana O'Neil uses exclusive access to Coach Wright and Nova basketball to delve into the inner-workings of a championship program. In the spirit of A Season on the Brink, O'Neil not only explores behind-the-scenes of the historic 2015-2016 NCAA championship season but also the improbable path that the Nova program took to college basketball immortality. In overcoming a disappointing NCAA Tournament track record, the breakup of the Big East conference as we knew it, and Nova's underdog status among traditional college hoops powerhouses, Jay Wright and his team provided the blueprint for how a “have-not” can prevail over the blue bloods the right way &– the Villanova Basketball Way.

Fitzrada was a stubborn and unpredictable army horse with a death sentence until Jane Pohl was able to sway her father into buying him. Soon, Jane and Fitz were taking the Virginia show-jumping circuit by storm at a time when women were not taken seriously by their male competitors. In 1946, Jane and Fitz found themselves at the Jumper Championship

“You don’t look like brothers . . .” Peace activist and cofounder of the Enough Project, John Prendergast is known as a champion of human rights in Africa. But the not-so-public face of J.P. is the life he’s led as a Big Brother to Michael Mattocks. As a curious, driven, and emotionally wounded twenty-year-old, J.P. made the life-changing decision to form a “Big Brother/Little Brother” relationship with then seven-year-old Michael, who was living out of plastic bags and drifting from one homeless shelter to the next with his mother and siblings. Lacking a connection with his own brother and distancing himself from a disastrous relationship with his father, J.P. formed a unique bond with Michael the moment they met. Michael and J.P. became like family, with Michael and some of his siblings even living with J.P. one summer. In the years that followed, J.P. took Michael and his brothers on outings, whether it was fishing, playing basketball, patronizing cheap restaurants, or going on road trips. This friendship would continue for over twenty-five years as the two coped with varying degrees of violence, instability, and trauma in their own lives. Told in duet, Unlikely Brothers follows Michael as he grows up on the tough streets of Washington, D.C., where as a young teenager he watched his best friend get shot, dropped out of school, and started dealing crack cocaine shortly thereafter. By sixteen, Michael had become the kingpin of his neighborhood, guns and drugs always close at hand. Meanwhile, J.P. was traveling to and from African war zones. J.P. offered Michael a refuge from the streets, never really confronting the gravity of what Michael was going through in his adolescence. In turn, Michael afforded J.P. an escape from his own turbulent personal and professional life. As the years go by, the two swoop in and out of each other’s lives, slowly disconnecting as they disappear into their respective worlds, but making their way back to each other at a critical moment for both of them. The effect the two have on each other is extremely significant to both of their paths to redemption. Inspirational and deeply moving, Unlikely Brothers beautifully showcases how life’s most random moments can often be the most profound.

Sam Jones spent his boyhood in a small city tucked away in the segregated south. In many ways, it was the most unlikely of settings for the start of a professional sports career marked by a rare kind of success. Guided by humble beginnings and values that included hard work, maturity, and respect, Sam soon discovered how much those early preparations would mean in the future as he entered college and set out on a trajectory that would eventually intersect with the Boston Celtics and produce astounding results. In his biography of the basketball legend, Mark Bodanza chronicles how Jones overcame obstacles on and off the basketball court to capture the attention of the Boston Celticsfresh from their first NBA championshipand become a surprising first-round draft pick in 1957 and, for the next twelve years, one of the games greatest champions. As Bodanza reveals Sams ultimate challenges and joys, it soon becomes evident that Jones was an extraordinary testament to what can be achieved through perseverance, integrity, and a faithful and determined effort, not just for himself but for the benefit of his team. Ten Times a Champion shares the fascinating story of a basketball legend who displayed unshakable tenacity and helped his beloved Boston Celtics achieve extraordinary goals.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The dramatic and inspiring story of a man and his horse, an unlikely duo whose rise to stardom in the sport of show jumping captivated the nation Harry de Leyer first saw the horse he would name Snowman on a truck bound for the slaughterhouse. The recent Dutch immigrant recognized the spark in the eye of the beaten-up nag and bought him for eighty dollars. On Harry’s modest farm on Long Island, he ultimately taught Snowman how to fly. Here is the dramatic and inspiring rise to stardom of an unlikely duo. One show at a time, against extraordinary odds and some of the most expensive thoroughbreds alive, the pair climbed to the very top of the sport of show jumping. Their story captured the heart of Cold War–era America—a story of unstoppable hope, inconceivable dreams, and the chance to have it all. They were the longest of all longshots—and their win was the stuff of legend.