Deep Drive: A Long Journey to Finding the Champion Within

In the fall of 2005 when the Red Sox announced that they would be acquiring Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell in a trade with the Marlins, I like most in Red Sox Nation, was skeptical about the abilities of the 3rd Basemen nobody seemed to want. After the 2006 season, I became a fan of Mike Lowell the player. I truly admired the way he played the game. After reading this book, I am now an even bigger fan of Mike Lowell the man. The book provides an intimate look into the rise of Mike Lowell to 2007 World Series MVP. His candor about his battles trying to achieve his goal of playing baseball in the majors, with cancer, and with the everyday life of being a professional athlete are not only inspiring, but truly illustrate what makes Mike Lowell so great on and off the field. His determination to succeed is evident through out the book, he remains positive and optimistic even through the nightmare of testicular cancer. A true role model and inspiration. Even if you are not a Red Sox fan you'll find this book entertaining, as it doesn't dwell on his time in Boston.

I had no expectations about this book when I started to read it. As a huge Mike Lowell fan, it wouldn't have mattered what it contained - I knew I would like it. But, I have to say, this book was much more than I thought it would be - kind of like Mike Lowell himself. The style of writing was very familiar - I felt like I was sitting talking to Mike as he shared his and his family's experiences with Castro, breaking into the big leagues and his battle with cancer. As someone who has also dealt with the "C" word, his positive attitude and approach was something I appreciated hearing about. The overall message of the book for me is that how things affect you in your life all has to do with how you react to them. Mike's experiences and his message is something that everyone can apply to their own lives. My only complaint was that the book ended! It left me wanting more! I highly recommend this book - it's much more than just a story of a great baseball player.

I was delayed in Logan airport and picked up the book just to kill the time. I bought the book thinking I would get a recap of last years World Series run and some inside perspective from the MVP of the series. But this book is much more than just baseball. Its a book that you SHOULD buy for your son and you SHOULD buy for your father. For your son so he can see what it means to do things with integrity and for the love of the game and for your father so he can see a real throwback player that does things like his heros did. I loved this book and just bought two more copies one for my son and one for my dad. ps I am a huge Yankee fan but a player and person like Mike Lowell is why I love this game. If you see a guy in Yankee stadium with a Yankee hat a Mike Lowell jersey come up and say hello.

This is sooo much more than your average baseball book. If you're interested in statistics alone you can always buy baseball cards. This is a powerful personal story of Mike Lowell: a son, a brother, a husband, a Father, a man who has never, and will never, forget where he and his family have come from and gone through, a CANCER SURVIVOR, and a Major League Baseball player. I can relate to him 100% on everything but being a Major League player. Mike calls this his "FOUNDATION". He unabashedly and with rightful pride details his family's history of fleeing from Castro's Cuba. His Father-In-Law spent fifteen years in a Cuban prison as a political prisoner. His memories of his "Mother having to sew her family's valuables into her dress as a little girl to circumvent the rule limiting a human being's life to one suitcase," is part of what is Mike's "FOUNDATION". This is a great deal more important than hitting and catching a baseball, which of course Mike does quite well as his record indicates via a Gold Glove for fielding, two world championships and four all-star teams. But that is not the true essence of this book. When Mike was eight-years-old, for the first time in his life he hit a game winning home run and life couldn't be sweeter. But on the way home in the car with his Dad, his Dad turned to him and said: "Doesn't it feel great to get that hit?" "I told him it sure did, still reveling in my new role as a third-grade-star." He then added, "If you want to do that more often, you have to WANT to be the guy that's in that situation-because a lot of people say they want to be in that situation, but they don't want to be in that situation." "Unbelievably, the glory of my home run had suddenly taken a backseat to these words. Even at that impatient age, listening to Dad was always the priority, and this was no exception." Twenty-five years later in the 2007 World Series after he hit the clinching seventh-inning home run he had heeded his Dad's advice again." But in between the childhood home run and the home run on the world's greatest stage, Mike faced life's largest and most deadly opponent: testicular cancer! The date was February 19, 1999. It's funny the way certain dates loom larger and more important than any others in your life. They make birthdays, anniversaries, graduation days seem inconsequential in comparison. I know! MY DATE is February 13, 2003; that's the day I almost died during brain tumor surgery. Mike hadn't even played one full season in the Major's. He describes what it was like driving by himself with tears streaming down his face with a possibly deadly secret, that only he and his Doctor knew, on the way home to tell his bride of four months. I took the same ride wondering how to tell my son. His loving strong family rallied around Mike and he made it through the surgery. He now chants and prays the exact same mantra I pray, every year I go in for my MRI (like Mike the frequency of these possible life altering tests have b

The angle that is played in many sports (auto)biographies in straight out of pop culture; the formula goes that the bigger the controversy, the bigger the boasting and naming names, the "better" the read. Mike Lowell is not one of those players who is a wannabe playa. This is truly a journey around the diamond of life, where there are roadblocks to hurdle before touching each base. Lowell chronicles his battle with cancer, the hard work it took for him to become a major leaguer and the family values that has kept him on the right path, no matter what the odds. Not simply a chronicle from a baseball dugout, Lowell provides insight and inspiration for anyone who is willing to meet the challenges in the roller coaster of life.