Our Last Best Shot

Our Last Best Shot presents the personal stories of twelve girls and boys from across America. Their stories, and Laura Sessions Stepp's extensive research, provide real insight for parents trying to raise well-adjusted children in this difficult age. Filled with wisdom and common sense, based on cutting-edge research, and featuring an invaluable resource list, this is a book that parents and educators cannot afford to be without.

Middle school and life on and off the basketball court are what four friends deal with in this satisfying conclusion to the 4 for 4 series. Here are four very different boys dealing with family, friends, school, and sports, told in a believable and accessible style. John Coy writes sports stories that run deep, and this series scores more and more readers each season. You'll win big fans in readers who like Mike Lupica, Chris Lynch, and Matt Christopher if you introduce them to the boys from 4 for 4.

Discover how you can respond to God's call in your own life, whether it's in your own town or on the other side of the world. Teen Austin Gutwein has taken his best shot several thousand times to help AIDS orphans in Africa and in the process has built a school and a medical clinic! Take Your Best Shot tells how one boy made an incredible difference in the lives of those without hope while challenging the reader to do the same. The interactive dialogue will leave space for the reader to respond. By the end of the book, the reader will know the testimony of Austin and other teens from around the world who are committed to a life of sharing Christ’s love, and will have begun to search for God’s voice in their own lives. The book will also equip and challenge readers with information on a variety of ministries and organizations around the world to help people, animals, and the environment. “Austin is an outstanding young man! He inspires us to dream bigger, reach higher and love deeper. His story deserves a wide hearing.” Max Lucado “I am very impressed with Austin Gutwein’s story in Take Your Best Shot. This book is filled with words of encouragement, inspiration, and hope. It’s guaranteed to motivate you into action.” Pat Williams, Senior Vice President, Orlando Magic “I spent a day with Austin and his family and found them inspiring. His story, I believe, challenges us all. The first thing I thought as I drove to the airport was: What was I doing when I was twelve? And then, of course, the next thought: What, exactly, am I doing now?” John Larson, Former NBC National Correspondent “When people ask me how they can possibly make a difference fighting a problem as big as ‘global poverty’, I tell them about a boy named Austin who, like David, stared Goliath in the eye without flinching. This young man has done more to make a difference in the lives of children orphaned by AIDS than most American churches, let alone individuals. If you are older than 10 and you haven’t yet done your part to change the world, read Take Your Best Shot and be inspired. Austin Gutwein shows us the way”. Richard Stearns, President, World Vision US, Author of The Hole in Our Gospel “When people ask who has most impacted me over the last year, without hesitation I can say Austin Gutwein and the story of Hoops of Hope. I am around amazing leaders all the time, and Austin rivals all of them. Austin is my friend. And Austin is one of my heroes. You can’t be around Austin or the amazing work of Hoops of Hope without being deeply impacted and inspired. Trust me. Do yourself a favor and read this book and the incredible story. But once you do, be prepared to be changed and challenged. You’ll see the world and your significant role in helping those less fortunate in an amazingly fresh way.” Brad Lomenick, Executive Director, Catalyst “Austin’s story is one of modern day heroism. He represents a new generation that can carry us all into the twenty-first century: a world of hope, peace and selfless love. Austin completely inspires me.” Daniel Biro, Hawk Nelson

Discover how to reach your greatest potential in golf by focusing only on the shot in front of you—nothing before or after—with the world’s preeminent sport psychologist, Dr. Bob Rotella. Acclaimed sport psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Bob Rotella has advised countless professional golfers, as well as athletes in individual and team sports at the amateur and professional levels, on how to flourish under pressure and win championships. Rotella strives to make average athletes exceptional. With his decades of in-depth research and practical experience, he has encouraged people worldwide to persevere through adversity in a dozen internationally bestselling titles. In Make Your Next Shot Your Best Shot, Rotella’s message is simple but effective: to reach your greatest potential in golf, you need to set your sights high and always think positively. He wants you to aim for something incredible: free your mind, concentrate on your process, accept whatever happens, and commit to making your next shot your best shot. Rotella shows you how to focus your mind, create a routine for success, persevere, and overcome failure. Drawing from lessons learned in other sports, this book is about how to train your mind to play in the moment. It’s about spending your lifetime chasing greatness—and having a ball while doing it.

Features a new Afterword for this edition. A controversial look at today's sexual hook-up culture, and "[a] book...you won't stop talking about."-Patricia Cornwell From the front lines of today's sexual battlefield comes an eye-opening examination of the hookup culture, seen through the personal experiences of the teenage girls and young women who live it-and who are left unprepared for its consequences. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author presents a disturbing and enlightening indictment of the hookup culture, the social forces that contribute to it, and what can be done to change it.

A powerful novel about friendship, basketball, and one teen's mission to create a better life for his family. Written in the tradition of Jason Reynolds, Matt de la Pe a, and Walter Dean Myers, After the Shot Drops now has three starred reviews * "Belongs on the shelf alongside contemporary heavy-hitters like Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give, Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds's All-American Boys, and Nic Stone's Dear Martin."--School Library Journal, starred review Bunny and Nasir have been best friends forever, but when Bunny accepts an athletic scholarship across town, Nasir feels betrayed. While Bunny tries to fit in with his new, privileged peers, Nasir spends more time with his cousin, Wallace, who is being evicted. Nasir can't help but wonder why the neighborhood is falling over itself to help Bunny when Wallace is in trouble. When Wallace makes a bet against Bunny, Nasir is faced with an impossible decision--maybe a dangerous one. Told from alternating perspectives, After the Shot Drops is a heart-pounding story about the responsibilities of great talent and the importance of compassion.

A newsbreaking memoir that tackles head-on the toughest challenge in the world today. When a dying King Hussein shocked the world by picking his son rather than his brother, the longtime crown prince, to be the next king of Jordan, no one was more surprised than the young head of Special Operations, who discovered his life was in for a major upheaval. This is the inspirational story of a young prince who went to boarding school in America and military academy in Britain and grew up believing he would be a soldier. Back home, he hunted down terrorists and modernized Jordan's Special Forces. Then, suddenly, he found himself king. Together with his wife, Queen Rania, he transformed what it meant to be a monarch, going undercover to escape the bubble of the court while she became the Muslim world's most passionate advocate of women's rights. In this exceptionally candid memoir, King Abdullah tackles the single toughest issue he faces head-on- how to solve the Israeli-Palestinian standoff- and reveals himself to be an invaluable intermediary between America and the Arab world. He writes about the impact of the Iraq war on his neighborhood and how best to tackle Iran's nuclear ambitions. Why would a sitting head of state choose to write about the most explosive issues he faces? King Abdullah does so now because he believes we face a moment of truth: a last chance for peace in the Middle East. The prize is enormous, the cost of failure far greater than we dare imagine.

A coming-of-age memoir of addiction, ambition and redemption in the high-stakes world of Michelin star kitchens. From reckless drug addict to one of Australia’s top chefs and television stars: MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo's powerful life story will shock and inspire. Jock’s life spiralled out of control when he tried heroin for the first time as a teenager while growing up in 1980s Glasgow. For years he balanced a career as a rising star amongst legendary chefs with a crippling drug addiction that took him down many dark paths. Fired from his job at a Michelin star restaurant in Chester, England, after a foul-mouthed rant, Jock made his way to London looking for work and found himself in front of the legendary Marco Pierre White. He credits White for saving his life, but Jock continued to struggle with addiction in a world of excess, celebrity, and cut-throat ambition. On New Year’s Eve 1999, Jock shot up his last shot of heroin before boarding a plane to Sydney, where he would find passion and new meaning in life in the most unexpected places. There would be more struggles ahead, including two failed marriages, the closure of his prized restaurant during COVID-19, his time on-country, and some very public battles. This is the unforgettable story of an incredible life cut short too soon. Praise for Last Shot 'I’ve known Jock for 25 years. He is not only a great mate but an incredibly talented chef - in Australia and around the world. Last Shot really shows how resilient Jock is and how far he has come in his personal and professional life. I’m inspired by how brave Jock has been for putting this biography out there. I couldn’t put it down. Loved it!’ Matt Moran ‘Zonfrillo climbed his way to the top of the gastronomic ladder only to abdicate his position. He still inspires chefs worldwide.’ Marco Pierre White ‘An amazingly candid story of a prolific but complicated chef who made it back from the brink despite the obstacles, surely one of the best comeback stories there is!’ Gordon Ramsay ‘Jock absolutely lives and breathes his passion for food, which began in childhood. And between the incredible ups and downs of his life that we read about in Last Shot, what really comes through for me is his search for knowledge of Indigenous foods – I so admire how the depth of his learning combined with his amazing skill and creativity has allowed him to celebrate the uniqueness of the cultures he has embraced.’ Maggie Beer AO