The Keeper

In the summer of 2014, Tim Howard became an overnight sensation after more than ten years as one of America's leading professional soccer players. His record-breaking fifteen saves for the United States national team against Belgium in the World Cup electrified a nation that had only recently woken up to the Beautiful Game after decades of hibernation. An estimated TV audience of 21 million viewers in the United States watched Howard's heroic performance against the heavily favored Belgians in which he repelled shots with his hands, feet, legs, knees, and even his signature long beard. In this inspiring and candid memoir, the beloved U.S. and Everton goalkeeper opens up for the first time about how a hyperactive kid with Tourette's syndrome from New Jersey defied the odds to become one of the greatest American keepers in history. The Keeper is also a chronicle of the personal sacrifices Howard's made for his career, including the ultimate dissolution of his marriage and its most painful consequence: separation from his two children. The Keeper will captivate soccer fans and readers who are unfamiliar with the sport but want to know what makes a world-class athlete different from the rest of us--and where that difference gives way to common ground.