Uncommon Favor by Dawn Staley

Uncommon Favor: Basketball, North Philly, My Mother, and the Life Lessons I Learned from All Three

Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars 

Pages: 256 pages
Published: May 2025

Dawn Staley, a former basketball player, Olympian, and current head coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team, released her first book, Uncommon Favor this spring. In it she uses her experiences and insights to detail 13 life lessons she’s curated from her time as a professional athlete, a life as a Philadelphian, and her mother’s rearing of her. Each chapter is centered around a particular theme or lesson that has influenced her life and career, and she uses examples from her life to illustrate her points. 

Overall, Staley emphasizes the importance of hard work, determination, resilience, and the support of mentors and family. She recounts specific challenges and struggles and how she’s overcome them. Her stories are not presented in a chronological fashion, and she often uses some of the same situations to highlight multiple lessons. Getting a behind the scene peek into some of her public events, like holding the U.S. flag at the 2004 Olympic opening ceremonies, was insightful.  

I enjoyed her stories, but I didn’t always appreciate the delivery. I think Staley could have benefited from some further editing. The biggest challenge I had as a reader had to do with my expectations. I went into the book thinking it would be more of a memoir, but Staley didn’t really share a lot of personal details. Much of what was shared was more factual in nature and could have easily been discovered online. To be fair, she states multiple times that she is a private person, so I suspect that is why a lot of her opinions and depictions were surface level. But on the other hand, if you enjoy your privacy, why write a biographical book? Having said that, I do feel like she began to open up a little more in the final third of the book. 

Recommendation: I respect what the author has attempted and appreciate her attempt at vulnerability, but the book left me wanting more. When I have read other stories like this, I almost feel like I’ve become friends with the author as I’ve gotten to know them through their work. Uncommon Favor told me basic things about the author and her life but not necessarily the why or what resulted from those happenings. Maybe Staley will write another book post-career where she can divulge a little more.  

Until next time ... Read on!

Regardless of whether I purchase a book, borrow a book, or receive a book in exchange for review, my ultimate goal is to be honest, fair, and constructive. I hope you've found this review helpful.

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Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

Rating: 5 of 5 stars 

Pages: 400 pages
Published: March 2023

I would not be surprised if Hello Beautiful by Napolitano was selected as a finalist for Book of the Month's Book of the Year recognition. My very first order with Book of the Month was Napolitano's Dear Edward, and while Hello Beautiful was different, it was just as beautifully written. This coming of age novel reminiscent of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women follows a decades-long story of the four unique and endearing Padavanos sisters and their relationship with another primary character, William Waters. 

William spends his formative years in a loveless, wordless home with parents who simply could not cope (nor parent, for that matter) after a horrible tragedy caused by no one. Upon graduation from high school, they send him packing and he goes to college in the Chicago area where he meets his future wife Julia and her enigmatic, albeit dysfunctional in some respects, family who are overall way more kind and loving to William than his own. Grasping on to those emotions that he's never experienced before, he marries Julia (and her family also) without truly thinking things through or even having to capability to know what he needs to be happy. Headstrong Julia is set on living her life one way - hers. As a result, William experiences a breakdown, and the marriage ends. But that's only the beginning of this family saga between the Padavanos and William. 

The remainder of the story is simply a beautiful tale of a family experiencing life together. While there is certainly a driving conflict that propels the story forward, I think the book is more about character development, beautifully constructed sentences, and what it means to truly understand one's self. I really enjoyed this saga, and I would read it again and again if there weren't so many other books on my list. 

Recommendation: Napolitano has gotten literary fiction down to an art, and to step into her world is pleasure. I can't wait to read what she writes next! 

Until next time ... Read on!

Regardless of whether I purchase a book, borrow a book, or receive a book in exchange for review, my ultimate goal is to be honest, fair, and constructive. I hope you've found this review helpful.

Read More