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When the Alphabet Comes: A Life Changed by Exposure
WHEN THE ALPHABET A Life Changed by Exposure is in many ways, a confession. Jerome Allen confesses his shortcomings, his sins and regrets, his wavering faith. He also confesses his deep love of family, of North Philadelphia, basketball and hip-hop.
As he recounts the timeline of being charged, convicted, and sentenced in a case that provided federal entre to the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal, he interprets his both his failings and his loves through his faith.
As a child, Allen was exposed to his faith by his father. He was also exposed to multi-generational communal living, where everyone pitches in to meet basic needs. He lived in a world where kids shoot basketballs into milk crates, matriarchs rule large households, and no one in the house owns a car.
By the time he was in junior high, he was being exposed to another world, one that would change the trajectory of his life. Offered the opportunity to attend an elite prep school, Allen discovered how his classmates on the Main Line lived. He found himself being wooed by 16 Division I colleges that competed for his athletic talents in both basketball and football.
Each new door that opened exposed him to a larger world. Counseled by mentors, he chose the University of Pennsylvania, where he'd play basketball and attend the Wharton School of Business. After Penn, he would live in four cities playing in the NBA. He would play ball in Europe. He would spend almost a decade in Italy, exposed to a culture 4,372 miles away from the rowhouses of North Philadelphia. Yet he would return to Philadelphia.
In 2009, he became the Head Coach of Men's Basketball at UPenn. Allen's world view had been expanded by exposure to the best schools and travel. But in 2018, when the story broke that he'd accepted a bribe while coaching at Penn, he wasn't taking in the sights on the Via Condotti, he was being exposed ― in every media outlet imaginable.
Allen has never wavered from taking responsibility for his actions. In When the Alphabet Comes, he documents the shock waves that being exposed created within his intimate relationships, as well as the strain of juggling his work as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics with court appearances.
At every step in this journey, his faith matures. From Why Me? to How can I use this to help others, God? Allen takes a hard look at how we get beyond shame and blame and despair to begin the process of redemption.
As he recounts the timeline of being charged, convicted, and sentenced in a case that provided federal entre to the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal, he interprets his both his failings and his loves through his faith.
As a child, Allen was exposed to his faith by his father. He was also exposed to multi-generational communal living, where everyone pitches in to meet basic needs. He lived in a world where kids shoot basketballs into milk crates, matriarchs rule large households, and no one in the house owns a car.
By the time he was in junior high, he was being exposed to another world, one that would change the trajectory of his life. Offered the opportunity to attend an elite prep school, Allen discovered how his classmates on the Main Line lived. He found himself being wooed by 16 Division I colleges that competed for his athletic talents in both basketball and football.
Each new door that opened exposed him to a larger world. Counseled by mentors, he chose the University of Pennsylvania, where he'd play basketball and attend the Wharton School of Business. After Penn, he would live in four cities playing in the NBA. He would play ball in Europe. He would spend almost a decade in Italy, exposed to a culture 4,372 miles away from the rowhouses of North Philadelphia. Yet he would return to Philadelphia.
In 2009, he became the Head Coach of Men's Basketball at UPenn. Allen's world view had been expanded by exposure to the best schools and travel. But in 2018, when the story broke that he'd accepted a bribe while coaching at Penn, he wasn't taking in the sights on the Via Condotti, he was being exposed ― in every media outlet imaginable.
Allen has never wavered from taking responsibility for his actions. In When the Alphabet Comes, he documents the shock waves that being exposed created within his intimate relationships, as well as the strain of juggling his work as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics with court appearances.
At every step in this journey, his faith matures. From Why Me? to How can I use this to help others, God? Allen takes a hard look at how we get beyond shame and blame and despair to begin the process of redemption.
- GenresSports
259 pages, Paperback
Published October 14, 2020
About the author
Jerome Allen
1 bookJerome Allen is an NBA Assistant Coach for the Boston Celtics. He is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, where, prior to joining the Celtics staff, he served as the John. R. Rockwell Head Coach of Men's Basketball. Beginning in 1995 as the 2nd Round draft pick of the Minnesota Timberwolves, his professional basketball career spanned 14 years, in 4 different NBA cities and 6 different countries throughout Europe. Since 1999, he has worked to create sustainable social impacts for youth from communities that struggle with educational and economic access. Drawing upon 19 years of experience in educational consulting and his own life, Jerome Allen actively supports and inspires students to develop their gifts through education. Allen is the father of four children. He and his wife, Aida, have been married since 1998.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 19, 2021
Interesting look into the life of a figure I much admired as a fellow Penn alum. Being at the same school at the same time is how to best describe the only similarities in our experiences. Even on campus life was vastly different.
Anyway, I had hoped to get a deeper insight into how someone I had always admired made a huge mistake. And I'm not sure I got the full picture. I did get Jerome's thoughts on why, but it feels more to me like post-hoc justification.
In any case, I don't judge Jerome by his greatest mistake and hope he can find it in himself to do the same.
Anyway, I had hoped to get a deeper insight into how someone I had always admired made a huge mistake. And I'm not sure I got the full picture. I did get Jerome's thoughts on why, but it feels more to me like post-hoc justification.
In any case, I don't judge Jerome by his greatest mistake and hope he can find it in himself to do the same.
November 26, 2023
Incredible read about real life beyond the headlines
This book is a great example of all the sides of a story. Mr. Allen took us on his journey past the headlines and dove into the how & why of his internal struggle. He did a good job of illustrating how one person can land on both sides of the same issue. I recommend this book to everyone and thank Mr. Allen for making me look more introspectively at my own decisions.
This book is a great example of all the sides of a story. Mr. Allen took us on his journey past the headlines and dove into the how & why of his internal struggle. He did a good job of illustrating how one person can land on both sides of the same issue. I recommend this book to everyone and thank Mr. Allen for making me look more introspectively at my own decisions.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews