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by Todd Marinovich (Author), Lizzy Wright (With)
2025 PenCraft Seasonal Book Award Winner in Sports
"A brutal look at the tragedy of addiction . . . Details the one-time prodigy's athletic highs in high school and college and his subsequent lows." --Booklist One of the most misunderstood professional athletes of his generation, America's "Robo Quarterback" finally sets the record straight, exposing his childhood trauma, battle with addiction, and path toward self-acceptance with honesty and humility. For years, the national media has been left unchecked for its careless, incomplete, and often inaccurate portrayal of Todd Marinovich's meteoric rise to fame, cataclysmic collapse, and unsteady path to self-realization. Now, for the first time, Todd tells his story in his own words, and nothing is off limits. Marinovich dives into the making of America's first "test-tube athlete," detailing Todd's upbringing under his father's unconventional care and his early entry into elite athletics along with its relentless spotlight. Readers will examine the inner workings of the mythical "Robo Quarterback," but they will also meet an artist and free spirit who just happened to be one of the nation's best football players. Todd holds nothing back as he tells of his jaw-dropping exploits both on and off the football field, sharing how the merciless grip of addiction unraveled his life even as his success in football reached dream-worthy heights. As the profit machine of youth sports reaches a crescendo and a mental health epidemic rages, Todd's inspiring path to healing and purpose offers desperately needed hope. Marinovich is more than a soul-baring account of one man's life: it is a call to embrace one's truth, to defy external pressures, and to cultivate the resilience necessary to recover from inevitable setbacks. Ultimately, Todd's shocking life experience is hard-won proof that the most powerful force within each of us is love.Author Biography
Todd Marinovich was a football media sensation for the last quarter of the twentieth century. In high school, he was the top player in the nation. He was also the star quarterback at the University of Southern California, leading the Trojans to a Rose Bowl victory his freshman year. Selected in the first round of the NFL draft as the first college sophomore in history to declare, he joined the Los Angeles Raiders, playing from 1991 to 1993. Leaving football due to drug addiction, he returned to the sport in 1999, earning Arena Football League All-Rookie team honors in 2000. A man who brings lightness and humor to even the most difficult trials in life, Todd openly shares his story to inspire others. He encourages audiences to embrace their truth, live out loud unapologetically, and pick themselves back up after inevitable falls.
