Standing Tall: A Memoir of Tragedy and Triumph » (Reprint)

C. VIVIAN STRINGER is the head coach of the Rutgers University women’s basketball team. A member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, she has been named National Coach of the Year three times by her peers. She was formerly the head coach of the University of Iowa women’s basketball team and  the Cheyney State women’s basketball team. She was also the assistant coach for the gold medal—winning 2004 U.S. Olympic team. Born in Edenborn, Pennsylvania, she has two sons, David and Justin, and a daughter, Nina. She lives in New Jersey.

LAURA TUCKER has coauthored books on a wide range of topics. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and daughter.

If you want to be introduced to the demands and delights of basketball, I am sure this book will satisfy you. If you want a book to speak eloquently about finding and losing a great love, about proud parenthood and passionate competition, rush to get this book. Simply put, it is a wonderful book about the wonder of growing up African American, female, ambitious, and successful. I laughed and cried with this book and was pleased. You go girl! Maya Angelou

Coach Vivian Stringer is a pillar of strength who always stands tall. I m inspired by her, both on and off the court, and you will be too. President Bill Clinton

What a story! In a way that touches me very personally, I see in Coach Stringer a mother s love and I know that love is the kind of leadership that can change the world. Michael Jordan

Love, honesty, respect, integrity: If you use these ingredients to build strong character there you have C. Vivian Stringer s story, and so beautifully written. Bill Cosby

Publishers Weekly

Move over, Horatio Alger. Stringer's inspiring story of rising to the top through hard work and the love of a close-knit family is one of the strongest sports memoirs in recent years. The oldest child in a large family that stressed education, teamwork and dignity, Stringer manifested all those values in nearly four decades as a basketball coach. As the first coach in NCAA women's history to bring three different teams to the Final Four, Stringer has loads of fantastic stories to share, particularly the turnaround that resulted in the 2006-2007 Rutgers women moving from the bottom of their division to the top, winning the nation's respect even before their dignified response to Don Imus's slurs. This memoir is also about winning off the court, as Stringer describes the heartrending trials that have tested her endurance and faith: a major crisis with each of her three children; the sudden death of her beloved husband in 1991; and her own quiet struggle with cancer, discussed openly here for the first time. Karen Chilton's performance is strong and memorable, and Stringer herself reads the introduction. Simultaneous release with the Crown hardcover. (Apr.)

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Introduction     1
Team Together     7
The C Stands for-Cheerleader?     25
You Come in Through the Front Door     37
I've Got My Glove Too     57
Finding a Way     67
To Rise and Give Hope     87
A Mother Knows     107
Time to Leave     123
You Can't Go Home Again, but You Can Get Close     131
No Crumbs from the Table     145
Dig Deep     161
The Best of Times, the Worst of Times     171
Lost     183
Play Your Way Out     199
Do You Know Who We Are?     227
Team of Destiny     245
This Is Who We Are     265
Epilogue: We Stand     283
Acknowledgments     287