Every Day I Fight: Making a Difference, Kicking Cancer's Ass PDF
Preview Every Day I Fight: Making a Difference, Kicking Cancer's Ass
Blue Rider Press, a Penguin Random House imprint 375 Hudson Street New York, New York 10014 USA • Canada • UK • Ireland • Australia • New Zealand • India • South Africa • China penguin.com A Penguin Random House Company Copyright © 2015 by Stuart Scott Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader. Blue Rider Press and the Blue Rider Press colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) LLC. This page is an extension of this copyright page. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Scott, Stuart, 1965–2015. Every day I fight / Stuart Scott, Larry Platt. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-698-19100-6 1. Scott, Stuart, 1965–2015. 2. Sportscasters—United States—Biography. 3. Cancer—Patients—United States—Biography. I. Platt, Larry. II. Title. GV742.42.S35A3 2015 2015002612 070.4‘49796092—dc23 [B] About the front jacket photograph: Stuart Scott sat for Dear World, a portrait project founded by Robert X. Fogarty. In his distinct message-on-skin style, Fogarty asks each subject to share a message about something or to someone they love. Penguin is committed to publishing works of quality and integrity. In that spirit, we are proud to offer this book to our readers; however, the story, the experiences, and the words are the author’s alone. Version_1 CONTENTS Frontispiece Title Page Copyright Dedication Foreword INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE | FATHER’S DAY CHAPTER TWO | TAKING HITS CHAPTER THREE | ALPHA MAN CHAPTER FOUR | GOTTA BE ME CHAPTER FIVE | BOOMER BETTER KEEP UP CHAPTER SIX | DROPPIN’ KNOWLEDGE CHAPTER SEVEN | I WON’T BE HERE FOR MY DAUGHTERS CHAPTER EIGHT | NEVER DIE EASY CHAPTER NINE | NOW WHAT? CHAPTER TEN | BACK IN THE RING CHAPTER ELEVEN | TWO DATES AND A DASH CHAPTER TWELVE | POUNDING THE ROCK CHAPTER THIRTEEN | YOU BEAT CANCER BY HOW YOU LIVE CHAPTER FOURTEEN | DAD, IS THIS IT? CHAPTER FIFTEEN | BASKING IN THE GLOW OF THE NOW EPILOGUE Photos Acknowledgments Permissions Photo Credits Index About the Authors For Taelor and Sydni Y es, Stuart Scott was as cool as the other side of the pillow. But he was so much more than the hippest sports journalist ever. It wasn’t just his unique catchphrases that set him apart. Stu was also one of the most authentic people I have ever been blessed to know. Simply put, he was the real deal on and off camera. We met in 1993. I had been at ESPN for a few years by then, and Stu was hired to be an anchor for the launch of ESPN2. Our cool factor went off the charts with Stu roaming the halls and performing “Rapper’s Delight” on karaoke nights. He brought a spirit and a style that had never been seen, never been felt before, at ESPN. Stu and I hit it off right away and discovered we had a lot in common. We both were from the South, were college hoops fanatics, and were the youngest of four children in our families. It was apparent that Stu came from a good, loving, and supportive family. Soon he started a family of his own. Taelor and Sydni were his world. Oh, how he loved being their dad. He proudly showed us their pictures as they grew into beautiful, talented young women. He’d whip out his phone and show us the latest video of them performing. Taelor playing the guitar, Sydni singing. Nothing, and I mean nothing, made Stu happier or brought him more pure joy. Later Stu and I shared something else in common. Cancer. But that never was the focus of our conversations. We didn’t feel the need to talk about it. There’s an unspoken language and understanding between those facing cancer. You focus on the fight, not the fright. Every day he fought for his girls… before and after he became ill. I’ll never forget when his cancer returned for a third time. I went with him to the gym to watch him train. He had taken up martial arts and cross-training workouts. In the midst of grueling chemotherapy treatments, it was his way to treat his body as well as his spirit. The punches and kicks he threw were physical as well as symbolic. It was Stu’s way of continuing to battle, to literally kick cancer’s you-know-what! After the workout, he began bragging about Taelor and Sydni. Then he told me: “I want to be here because I don’t want some other dude walking my daughters down the aisle at their weddings.” Those girls gave Stu purpose in his life and his fight. Though the outcome was not what we wanted, not what we prayed for, Stu’s fight was every bit as valiant and meaningful. Like many, I remain in awe of how he stared cancer smack-dab in the face. Sitting in the audience at the ESPYs, I marveled at how he found the strength to get out of his hospital bed and take that stage. It was incredibly fitting that he received the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance. Jim Valvano and Stuart Scott were cut from the same cloth. Two dynamic men who embraced life and changed lives. That night at the ESPYs, Stu must have been the bus driver, cuz he was takin’ us to school. He delivered an invaluable lesson for the ages: “When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you live.” His words were as raw, honest, and powerful as the man himself. Stu’s unshakable courage was inspirational. Cancer never defined him; it’s not his life’s story but rather a chapter in his life’s story. You’ll see in these beautifully written pages that he set a stellar example for all of us in so many aspects of life. Stu said when you’re too tired to fight, rest and let someone else fight for you. My dear friend, you can rest now, and we will continue to fight for you. ROBIN ROBERTS
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