I’ve loved to read all my life. Everything from biographies to mysteries to the sciences to science fiction has been illuminated by the lamp next to my reading chair. Each has a place – somewhere – in this this gray matter we like to think of as “us”. I’ll be honest too. Although I’ve never thrown a book away, there are many I’d never open the cover on again – just not worth it. Like a blind date with a girl your mom said was, “nice”.
Then there are those you can’t forget. Ones that stayed with you because they “understood” you in some crazy way. They are the books that you even touch differently, more gently, when you take them down to read them again years later. They are special. Special, because inside them is a story that takes you down into that one special room in your heart. The room not many have seen. We keep our memories there. And, like a cold winter’s night we put another log into the fireplace, adjust our chair a little closer to the lamp, listen to the *pop* of the burning wood as the heat gently sinks into our bones and the rhythmic breathing of our faithful dog beside the chair blends into the sounds of a perfect evening. We open the book and are whisked away to rediscover friends, places, emotions and everything else we loved the last time we visited this place.

That’s how I feel about Gerald Nardella’s “Playing Hurt”. Everything about it is REAL, know what I mean? Not a lot of stories can do that. Every good book has characters and situations you care about. Places and events you wish you could have been to. I’m going to very honest here and tell you that if I didn’t know Mr. Nardella was a first-time writer, I’d have been searching Amazon and the brick-and-mortar book stores for more of his work. The characters come alive and you feel as though you’ve known them before. You care about them. That’s probably the best thing anyone can say about a book. This book deserves that.

If you’re debating about reading this book, I understand. Nobody wants to shell out money for something they’ll only read the first half of, get bored, and then throw it in the “Thrift Store” pile. But not this book. This one is different. That’s all I can tell you; you’ll have to trust me on this one. Like I said at the beginning, I’ve read thousands of books – some great, some not-so-great, and some were just road kill. Do yourself a favor and give Playing Hurt a try. After you’ve read it, you’ll understand everything I’ve talked about in this review.

You’ll touch “Playing Hurt” a little differently when you take it down to read it the next time. Gently. Because you know the story and people that await you inside.