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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Coming Home by Brittney Griner with Michelle Burford

Rating: 5 of 5 stars 

Duration: 10:36:00
Published: May 2024

I used my last Audible credit on my birthday, before I canceled my membership, to purchase Brittney Griner's Coming Home where she recounts the horrifying 10 months she was wrongfully detained in Russia for mistakenly bringing 0.7 grams of medically-prescribed hash oil on a flight from her home in Phoenix. She was returning to Russia to finish out the season playing for the Russia women's basketball team after recuperating from a COVID-19 diagnosis. 

This story is so maddening I don't know that I could have made it through the book if I didn't know the ending. The non-fictional story is presented in an engaging way and provides insight and details to Griner's horrifying ordeal that we, as a nation, did not hear about on the news. Griner narrates the prologue and epilogue, and Andia Winslow does a beautiful job narrating the story in between. I was also really was inspired by how much effort her wife, Cherelle, invested in keeping the campaign for her return alive in the midst of dealing with her own trauma and carrying out her daily responsibilities including passing the bar exam. 

From a personal level, what's even more infuriating than what happened to Griner is the lack of empathy from her fellow U.S. citizens, including some I know personally, who had such vitriol to share about her. It is disappointing that people can be so black and white and not give grace or space for others. I try not to dwell on the negativity but rather the community that came together and embodied the #WeAreBG movement. Whether you agree with the politics of her detainment and ultimate release is of little-to-no consequence. She is back on U.S. soil, thank God, and you will never be able to make me believe in the same situation, you wouldn't take whatever opportunity presented to you to get back home to your loved ones. My only hope is that one day the majority of people in the U.S. will have the same amount of compassion and energy for people who look like Griner as they do for people like Amber Guyger and Michael P. Fay.

For Griner to come out on the other side of this as a person who is not only healing from her trauma but also exhibiting a very positive mindset is commendable. What she is doing to help bring light to other wrongfully detained U.S. citizens across the globe is inspiring. I admire her courage and her strength to carry on, including her plans to represent the U.S. in the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. 

Recommendation: I enjoyed getting to know more about Griner, her family, and how she is moving forward. I have nothing to send her but positive and healing energy for the future. 

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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Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Rating: 5 of 5 stars 

Pages: 401 pages
Published: July 2022

The last and only book I’ve read by Gabrielle Zevin, before Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, was The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. That book was before A Page Before Bedtime, but I do recall it being lovely and giving me all the feels. So, I had high hopes when I snagged this copy as part of my Book of the Month Club subscription. Little did I know it would be one of the most popular books of the summer. After reading it, I can definitely say it is worth the hype. 

The complex story is about the complicated relationship between two childhood friends (Sam and Sadie) and a third, secondary character, whom they met in college during an entrepreneurial venture in the video gaming industry. Over the course of the many years the books covers, we learn more about the layers of the personal and professional relationships as well as the backstory of each major character that contributed to their current personality make-up in present day. In this story, Zevin tackles some heavy subjects (trigger warnings: grooming, abuse of power, death, etc.) 

I listened to a couple of podcasts where Zevin was interviewed about this book, and I believe her when she tells the reader that this is a story about love, a story about relationships, but not necessarily one about romance. I agree that you truly can have a loving relationship with people who you are in a platonic relationship. 

Recommendation: It’s so hard to sum up this book. It’s about so many things. I am not a gamer, but I don’t think this is necessarily a book about gaming. It’s a book about people and interpersonal relationships and gaming is the vehicle that helps propel the story forward. The plot evokes many emotions and points to ponder long after the last page is read. I highly recommend this book when you have time to truly appreciate the excellent work of contemporary literature it is. 

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