God and Starbucks: An NBA Superstar's Journey Through Addiction and Recovery

by Andrew Chestnut, Joe Layden

Overview

An astonishing memoir of redemption—the moving story of a former top NBA player who miraculously rebounded from a monumental fall thanks to hard work and his deep, transformative faith.

Sixteen years ago, Vin Baker was an NBA All-Star, an Olympic Gold medalist, and a multimillionaire. While he excelled on the court, Vin harbored a dark secret: a dependency on drugs and alcohol that began after the clean-cut preacher’s son turned pro. Eventually becoming a full-blown yet functional alcoholic, Vin convinced himself he played better under the influence—until his addiction cost him his basketball career, his fortune, and his health.

But Vin’s story isn’t a tragic fall from grace. It is a joyous tale of salvation. For Vin, hitting rock bottom was a difficult yet transformative experience that led him to renew his relationship with God and embrace life in a rich and fulfilling new way. Today the manager of a Starbucks and a youth minister, Vin has found more security and happiness in his ordinary working life than in all his years in the glamorous world of professional basketball.

God and Starbucks is a wise and unflinching look at the real dangers of addiction and the importance of taking charge of your life with meaning and purpose. It’s a powerful memoir about reaching the top and beginning again from the bottom—an inspiring personal tale of humility and grace that reminds us what is truly important in our lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062496836
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	07/11/2017
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	52,852
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Vin Baker spent thirteen years in the NBA, including four as an all-star. A graduate of the University of Hartford, where he remains the school’s career leader in points and rebounds, he won a gold medal playing for the US Olympic team in 2000 and was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks as the eighth pick in the 1993 NBA draft. He is an assistant pastor and youth minister in his hometown of Old Saybrook, Connecticut. He also works as a consultant for the Bucks and is a member of the Professional Basketball Alumni Association. Baker lives in Old Saybrook with his family.

An award-winning journalist and bestselling author, Joe Layden has written more than thirty books, including The Last Great Fight, which was named one of the best sports books of 2007 by Sports Illustrated and the American Library Association. He is also the co-author of the New York Times bestsellers There and Back Again and The Rock Says. . . . He lives in upstate New York.