Farewell to Football? is a contemplative memoir that also brims with energetic storytelling surrounding a devoted fan's relationship to football.
Framed around author Steven Liparulo's personal connections with more than a dozen noteworthy games over five decades, this very personal book details major events in his life and spiritual direction while exploring the question: "Why is football such a big deal-such a quintessentially American big deal-and how important should the game really be?"
Based on years of research and more than a year of writing, with contributions from over fifty sources, Liparulo undertakes an examination of conscience. He draws on the insights of parents young and old, coaches from all across the country, fans of the game from youth football to the pros, and players past and present to offer wide-ranging scholarship and critique of the game and its place in American culture.
In the vein of Frederick Exley's A Fan's Notes, Thomas Merton's The Seven Storey Mountain, and Michael MacCambridge's America's Game, this captivating work is for football players, coaches, and fans whose personal faith journeys have led them to ask hard questions about their deep attachment to and love for the game.
About the Author: Dr. Steven Liparulo graduated with a PhD from the University of Houston Creative Writing Program in 2002 and was associate director for writing programs at the University of Houston Writing Center from 2003 to 2016.
He completed undergraduate degrees in English and philosophy from Binghamton University while earning an Army ROTC commission at Cornell University in 1983.
A graduate of US Army Airborne, Ranger, and Special Forces schools, he served as an infantry officer in the Republic of Korea and as a Special Forces A-Team Leader at Fort Devens, Massachusetts.
After Army service, he taught high school in Norwich, New York, and earned master's degrees in teaching and English literature from his undergraduate alma mater.
His work has appeared in Arizona Quarterly; War, Literature, and the Arts; Assessing Writing; Gulf Coast; and the Mark Heberle-edited book Thirty Years After: New Essays on Vietnam War Literature, Film, and Art.
