As an observant child, author Wysingle grew up watching the neighborhood families interact with their fathers. Her perspective and curiosity came from her upbringing within a fatherless home. Wysingle's mother never spoke of who or where her father was or how her daughter might be doing in a home without one, so she was left alone to imagine why there was no father present in her home and life. Wysingle did not know her father's identity until someone special in her life unkindly revealed the truth.

Once she discovers that her godfather is her biological father, an emotional avalanche is released. Wysingle learns to find substitutions for the father she never had. Basketball becomes her life, and she relates the rules and protocols of the game to how having a father in her life might have shaped her. As she gains success, the thought that her mother was protecting her from rejection by her father occurs to her, and she learns to move forward. She comes to realize that giving up on relationships that do not support her achievement goals can bring acceptance as to what her needs truly are.

This poignant memoir comes from a loving and understanding heart. It could benefit all those who have been broken by unspoken family rules and parents who could or would not share vital information with their children. The intense emotional outpouring is a cry for empathic understanding and, at first, may make the reader uncomfortable. But as Wysingle learns, time allows her to shift her perspective, and she successfully brings the reader along with her as she creates healthy achievement goals for her life.

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