The memoir, Coming Back Stronger, by Drew Brees, seems to be getting better and better the more I read in the book. In chapter six, Brees describes possibly the greatest setback he has faced in his NFL career thus far. He describes how his prospects with the San Diego Chargers were looking better after he made the pro bowl for the first time in his career. Unfortunately, the next season was not the improvement Brees had hoped for the team. The team, already out of the playoffs, was losing to the Denver Broncos when Brees tore his shoulder on the last game of the season. Brees described how dislocating his shoulder became another defining moment in his life. He met with Dr. Andrews of Birmingham, Alabama to talk about his injury. Unfortunately, Brees received word form the doctor that he did indeed suffer a serious injury. At this point in Brees's life, Drew was beginning to question whether or not he could again play in the NFL. He had to undergo surgery on his shoulder. Amazingly, the surgery went excellently and the doctor even said he could not have done the surgery any better.
After the surgery, Brees describes his long rehab process. He describes how his relationship with Brittany's parents grew throughout the rehab. He detailed all of the struggles and limitations he faced throughout the rehab process. Interestingly, Brees also writes about how he was competitive with his recovery process. The doctor would give him a timetable for each part of his rehab process, and Brees would aim to beat every date for recovery. As a result, Brees recovered faster from his shoulder injury than expected. After he seemed to be in the clear from his injury, Brees began to explore his options with the San Diego Chargers for his future football career. He needed to sign a new contract with the team. The Chargers offered him a contract, but not up to Brees's standards. Basically they offered him a backup quarterback's salary. The message was clear to Brees that the Chargers had lost faith in him to lead the team. As a result, Brees explored his options elsewhere.
In chapter seven, Brees describes his long, well thought out process to determine where he would be playing football in the future. There were not many teams that expressed interest in Brees as their starting quarterback. Consequently, Brees quickly narrowed his search down to two teams that were showing their belief in him to lead their team to the Super Bowl. He had to decide between the Miami Dolphins and the New Orleans Saints. He writes about how he definitely had his mind set on the Miami Dolphins early on in his decision making process. They were the team with clearly the brighter future on the outset. In addition, the Saints were still recently recovering from the devastation from Hurricane Katrina. However, Brees vowed to give both teams a chance before he gave his final decision. He met with both teams on several occasions. Brees specifically describes the devastion he witnessed in New Orleans. He could not truly comprehend the images he saw. Regardless, he came to a rather clear conclusion after the meetings with both the Dolphins and Saints. Through the meetings, Brees sensed a message that the Saints wanted him more than the Dolphins. The Dolphins seemed to be concerned with his shoulder injury. On the other hand, the Saints seemed to believe Brees could truly lead their team to a championship regardless of the injury. Brees wanted to make one final call to Dolphin's coach Nick Saban before making his final verdict. His conversation with coach Saban seemed to exude a doubting feeling from the Dolphin's organization. Through prayer, and his final call to coach Saban, Brees came to a decision that he should sign with New Orleans. He also believed that God may have been calling him to New Orleans, possibly in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. At the end of the chapter, Brees tells his agent to sign with New Orleans.
After I completed this section of reading in Coming Back Stronger, I believe I gained a deeper understanding in the concept of belief. In other words, I learned from Brees's story of his shoulder injury. He had to trust in God that God's plan was beyond his personal views. He had no idea where God was taking him, but he had the courage and belief to put his doubts aside. I can recall numerous occasions in which I have been completely lost. Not lost in a physical form, but in a mental form. My life may seem to be rocketing out of control. However, from my personal faith in God, I know I need to keep a level head. Even when there is no possible way that I can see purpose in my struggles, I must remain faithful to God. Again, these are my personal beliefs, but I seem to have many of them in common with the author of this book, Drew Brees.
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