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Magic Season: A Son's Story
*A Michigan Notable Book of 2022*
"Honest, authentic, heartbreaking and healing. I devoured it in one day."—Jenny Lawson, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Wade Rouse, bestselling author under the pen name Viola Shipman, finds solace with his dying father through their shared love of baseball in this poignant, illuminating memoir of family and forgiveness.
Before his success in public relations, his loving marriage and his storied writing career, Wade Rouse was simply Ted Rouse's son. A queer kid in a conservative Ozarks community, Wade struggled at a young age to garner his father's approval and find his voice. For his part, Ted was a hard-lined engineer, offering little emotional support or encouragement. But Wade and Ted had one thing in an undying love of the St. Louis Cardinals.
For decades, baseball offered Wade and his father a shared vocabulary—a way to stay in touch, to connect and to express their emotions. But when his father's health takes a turn for the worst, Wade returns to southwest Missouri to share one final season with his father. As the Cards race towards a dramatic pennant race, Wade and his father begin to open up in way they never thought possible. Together, inning by inning during their own magic season, they'll move towards forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace.
Heartfelt, hilarious and lovingly rendered, Magic Season is an unforgettable story of love, family and forgiveness against the backdrop of America's favorite pastime.
"Honest, authentic, heartbreaking and healing. I devoured it in one day."—Jenny Lawson, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Wade Rouse, bestselling author under the pen name Viola Shipman, finds solace with his dying father through their shared love of baseball in this poignant, illuminating memoir of family and forgiveness.
Before his success in public relations, his loving marriage and his storied writing career, Wade Rouse was simply Ted Rouse's son. A queer kid in a conservative Ozarks community, Wade struggled at a young age to garner his father's approval and find his voice. For his part, Ted was a hard-lined engineer, offering little emotional support or encouragement. But Wade and Ted had one thing in an undying love of the St. Louis Cardinals.
For decades, baseball offered Wade and his father a shared vocabulary—a way to stay in touch, to connect and to express their emotions. But when his father's health takes a turn for the worst, Wade returns to southwest Missouri to share one final season with his father. As the Cards race towards a dramatic pennant race, Wade and his father begin to open up in way they never thought possible. Together, inning by inning during their own magic season, they'll move towards forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace.
Heartfelt, hilarious and lovingly rendered, Magic Season is an unforgettable story of love, family and forgiveness against the backdrop of America's favorite pastime.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published May 3, 2022
42 people are currently reading
1333 people want to read
About the author
Wade Rouse
15 books269 followersWADE ROUSE is the critically acclaimed author ofthe memoirs America’s Boy, Confessions of a Prep School Mommy Handler, and At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream and editor of the upcoming humorous dog anthology I’m Not the Biggest Bitch in This Relationship!He is a humor columnist for Metrosource magazine. Rouse lives outside Saugatuck, Michigan, with his partner, Gary, and their mutts, Marge and Mabel.
(source: Amazon)
(source: Amazon)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 169 reviews
March 29, 2022
I was excited to get approved by NetGalley for Wade Rouse’s new book “Magic Season” since I’m a huge fan of Viola Shipman. Wade writes under his grandmother’s pen name which is Viola Shipman. I really appreciated Wade’s honesty in his latest memoir about his life with his dying father, his family life growing up, baseball games with his dad and his wonderful partner, Gary. “This is a winner, folks!” Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published May 2022.
February 19, 2022
I received an Advanced Reader Copy of Magic Season from NetGalley. I devoured the book in one day. I am very familiar with the novels that Wade Rouse has written using his Grandma’s name Viola Shipman as his pen name. These are my favorite books. Each one celebrates family traditions and heirlooms. So when I had the chance to review Magic Season, I was thrilled. What an incredible tribute to resilience and hope! Wade bares his soul to share the relationship between his father and himself. searching for acceptance and wanting to know he is loved by his father. No matter how many times his father rejects and hurts Wade, Wade continues to give him one more chance. Gary, Wade’s husband, is an amazing, loving spouse! Gary believes in Wade’s talent and supports him in anyway he can. Viola Shipman has a literary event on Thursdays called Wine and Words with Wade. Gary is an integral part of these hour long shows. This memoir is a love story to family. Wade believes in the power of HOPE! I highly recommend this book to everyone. It deserves a place in every library and home. 5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
May 26, 2023
Magic Season was a 2023 MomAdvice Book Club selection for May! You can join our book club on Facebook.
****
Wade Rouse is a bestselling author, perhaps best known for his beach reads written under the pen name Viola Shipman. However, you may not know he is also a gifted memoir writer with four memoirs.
I selected this for the summer season because it is the kind of book you can read in a single day and set around the game of baseball. What a perfect summer selection!
Wade's story begins as a queer kid who grew up in a conservative Ozarks community. He and his father could not be more different, and his father is both brutally unaccepting and disapproving of Wade. It isn't just his sexual identity that baffles his father. His creative endeavors, writing career, and political leanings also confuse him.
Despite their differences, they do find common ground in one thing: baseball! Rouse shares the most moving portrait of father and son as they use this sport as glue to bind them when they can never see eye-to-eye.
Rouse also tackles the complex terrain of parenting an older parent when you have grown up in a challenging relationship. His grace for his dad and ability to find commonality in polarizing times make this an essential read for ANY reader. How do we find common ground when we feel so differently?
I can't recall a more moving memoir of father and son than this one. It left me in a puddle, and I marveled how Rouse could pull in a reader like me who couldn't care a bit about the game of baseball to be wholly enveloped in their shared love of the sport.
Spending an hour with Wade in our Patreon Book Club Author Series was an honor- it has been my favorite interview so far this year. I feel lucky to have shared space with such a compassionate, driven, and gifted writer. I hope you will pick up this under-the-radar gem this summer!
****
Wade Rouse is a bestselling author, perhaps best known for his beach reads written under the pen name Viola Shipman. However, you may not know he is also a gifted memoir writer with four memoirs.
I selected this for the summer season because it is the kind of book you can read in a single day and set around the game of baseball. What a perfect summer selection!
Wade's story begins as a queer kid who grew up in a conservative Ozarks community. He and his father could not be more different, and his father is both brutally unaccepting and disapproving of Wade. It isn't just his sexual identity that baffles his father. His creative endeavors, writing career, and political leanings also confuse him.
Despite their differences, they do find common ground in one thing: baseball! Rouse shares the most moving portrait of father and son as they use this sport as glue to bind them when they can never see eye-to-eye.
Rouse also tackles the complex terrain of parenting an older parent when you have grown up in a challenging relationship. His grace for his dad and ability to find commonality in polarizing times make this an essential read for ANY reader. How do we find common ground when we feel so differently?
I can't recall a more moving memoir of father and son than this one. It left me in a puddle, and I marveled how Rouse could pull in a reader like me who couldn't care a bit about the game of baseball to be wholly enveloped in their shared love of the sport.
Spending an hour with Wade in our Patreon Book Club Author Series was an honor- it has been my favorite interview so far this year. I feel lucky to have shared space with such a compassionate, driven, and gifted writer. I hope you will pick up this under-the-radar gem this summer!
June 5, 2022
A wonderful memoir written by Wade Rouse. I listened to the audiobook version, and his self narration was excellent. If you are a fan of his other books, written under his pen name Viola Shipman, I highly recommend this quick read/listen. Will be one of my favorite memoirs this year!
May 23, 2022
this book is totally amazing
August 14, 2025
This was the second memoir I have read by Wade Rouse, a young man from rural southwest Missouri. The first book centered on his relationship with his mother. This one is more about his father, and the weaknesses and strengths of their relationship, one that endured despite many struggles. Both of these were excellent reads.
May 16, 2022
I am not a baseball enthusiast..however, when I heard of Wade Rouse memoir , growing up as ted's son Wade Rouse , The Magic Season, I had to read this book .
His previous fiction books with the pen name Viola SHipman ,(after his beloved grandmother) dont grasp moments about life with his father. The Magic Season does, and under his real name Wade Rouse...this is an emotional and true test of forgiveness and unconditional love for people..especially a parent. Writers write hero type biographies and tell their story of the great hurrah moments in their life.Wade's hurrah in this book carries throughout the hand gripping journey he has had with his alcoholic opinionated , controlling father.
I hate hearing when men menthor their sons in a "Be A Man!" behavior..no,it doesnt take physical and tough enduring trials to make your son a man...it takes unconditional love and teaching your son that its okay to fail and credibilty makes you a person with pride and trust.The old school men in my son's life have this way of thinking,so my own son had to find peace with two men in his life who forever couldnt understand his sensitivity to life growing up. Having to defend his beleifs and crying when his battles were defeated,I too defending him. I could relate while reading through this book.I actually hated Wade's father along as I read...his behaviors and the verbal cruelty. The people who you offend most, are the ones who come and save you every inch.I could understand the old school beleifs of saving every penny you earn and dont spend it.His father was financially smart and yet, as a parent, abit mentally ill.
His father did have his high points at providing for his family, and the ending in this book of his beleifs , why he was how he was towards Wade, ..it just melted my heart and I gave him a standing ovation. That may be abit too kind you may say. This man saw the light at his tunnel as it was getting closer.
The commencement to a final penant in the winning Chgo Cubs..it took a long journey to get there..the sweats,curses and throwing the cap down with anger and finally picking it up with pride and emotions finally changed with a smile. Wade never stepped out of the plate..he gave it his all,tears and laughs but he stuck around at his dads side, and it took a ballgame, ST Louis Cardinals , to connect them together each time.
His previous fiction books with the pen name Viola SHipman ,(after his beloved grandmother) dont grasp moments about life with his father. The Magic Season does, and under his real name Wade Rouse...this is an emotional and true test of forgiveness and unconditional love for people..especially a parent. Writers write hero type biographies and tell their story of the great hurrah moments in their life.Wade's hurrah in this book carries throughout the hand gripping journey he has had with his alcoholic opinionated , controlling father.
I hate hearing when men menthor their sons in a "Be A Man!" behavior..no,it doesnt take physical and tough enduring trials to make your son a man...it takes unconditional love and teaching your son that its okay to fail and credibilty makes you a person with pride and trust.The old school men in my son's life have this way of thinking,so my own son had to find peace with two men in his life who forever couldnt understand his sensitivity to life growing up. Having to defend his beleifs and crying when his battles were defeated,I too defending him. I could relate while reading through this book.I actually hated Wade's father along as I read...his behaviors and the verbal cruelty. The people who you offend most, are the ones who come and save you every inch.I could understand the old school beleifs of saving every penny you earn and dont spend it.His father was financially smart and yet, as a parent, abit mentally ill.
His father did have his high points at providing for his family, and the ending in this book of his beleifs , why he was how he was towards Wade, ..it just melted my heart and I gave him a standing ovation. That may be abit too kind you may say. This man saw the light at his tunnel as it was getting closer.
The commencement to a final penant in the winning Chgo Cubs..it took a long journey to get there..the sweats,curses and throwing the cap down with anger and finally picking it up with pride and emotions finally changed with a smile. Wade never stepped out of the plate..he gave it his all,tears and laughs but he stuck around at his dads side, and it took a ballgame, ST Louis Cardinals , to connect them together each time.
April 1, 2022
Name of Book: Magic Season
Author: Wade Rouse
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing
Pub Date: May 3, 2022
My Rating: 4 Stars!
I have read several Wade Rouse stories only by his pen name Viola Shipman which was his grandmother’s name. Those stories were all beautifully written with a message of family tradition.
In this memoir Wade Roise tells us about his relationship with his father ~ Wade always had hope and continued to try for his father’s love no matter how many times he was rejected. He tells us that giving his father so many changes is the same reason we stick to our favorite sports team season after each miserable season as we know a miracle can happen and the Magical season will occur.
He said that everything divided them except baseball! Therefore his memoir is written with a baseball analogy and yes the last chapter is the ‘Bottom of the 9th’!
Wade’s husband Gary is a very supportive loving spouse and always believed in Wade’s talent.
This is a story of family love and the power of Hope!
Yes! It did get difficult to read with tears in my eyes
Want to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing – Hanover Square Press for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 3, 2022.
Author: Wade Rouse
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing
Pub Date: May 3, 2022
My Rating: 4 Stars!
I have read several Wade Rouse stories only by his pen name Viola Shipman which was his grandmother’s name. Those stories were all beautifully written with a message of family tradition.
In this memoir Wade Roise tells us about his relationship with his father ~ Wade always had hope and continued to try for his father’s love no matter how many times he was rejected. He tells us that giving his father so many changes is the same reason we stick to our favorite sports team season after each miserable season as we know a miracle can happen and the Magical season will occur.
He said that everything divided them except baseball! Therefore his memoir is written with a baseball analogy and yes the last chapter is the ‘Bottom of the 9th’!
Wade’s husband Gary is a very supportive loving spouse and always believed in Wade’s talent.
This is a story of family love and the power of Hope!
Yes! It did get difficult to read with tears in my eyes
Want to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing – Hanover Square Press for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 3, 2022.
November 20, 2022
I was at an event the other day to hear Wade Rouse speak about his newest book, A Wish For Winter. At the same time I was finishing his memoir, Magic Season. I have found all of his books to be heartfelt and this one truly is that.
The story is beautifully written as well as cleverly divided into innings instead of chapters. As a gay man growing up in the Ozarks, he had a life of ridicule, lies, and feeling unloved by his father. His dad believed being " a man's man" was the only way to be and he just didn't understand how to "be" with Wade. They did bond over baseball, however, and much to his credit he never gave up on his dad despite how cruel and hurtful he could be to Wade.
Wade always looks at his relationship with his father by considering not only how his dad acted or what his dad did but what part he
played in this or how he contributed. He tells his story from deep within but is also teaching us lessons from his experiences.
Many celebrities have memoirs but they usually have ghost writers so they clearly can't have the soul that Wade's memoir has since it came directly from his heart right into ours. Family, love, and a large dose of forgiveness is the backbone of this book.
The story is beautifully written as well as cleverly divided into innings instead of chapters. As a gay man growing up in the Ozarks, he had a life of ridicule, lies, and feeling unloved by his father. His dad believed being " a man's man" was the only way to be and he just didn't understand how to "be" with Wade. They did bond over baseball, however, and much to his credit he never gave up on his dad despite how cruel and hurtful he could be to Wade.
Wade always looks at his relationship with his father by considering not only how his dad acted or what his dad did but what part he
played in this or how he contributed. He tells his story from deep within but is also teaching us lessons from his experiences.
Many celebrities have memoirs but they usually have ghost writers so they clearly can't have the soul that Wade's memoir has since it came directly from his heart right into ours. Family, love, and a large dose of forgiveness is the backbone of this book.
February 8, 2024
I really enjoyed this memoir about a son and his complicated relationship with his father. Wade is both generous and honest as he describes coming out, his educational pursuits and writing career, and his politics, all of which disappointed his conservative father who grew up in the Ozarks. The vignettes are anchored in the St. Louis Cardinals' end-of-season championship series, though I don't think you need to be a baseball fan to appreciate this story of hope and forgiveness. I found myself inspired by the healing in this relationship and I'm eager to read more from this author, both memoir and fiction (he publishes under his grandmother's penname, Viola Shipman).
Some strong language (including f-words).
Some strong language (including f-words).
May 10, 2022
Such a raw, emotional story. Wade did a wonderful job with this one, he does with all of them but this one is exceptional. Highly recommend this read for anyone who has had a strained relationship with a parent. This read will make you laugh, it will definitely make you cry, it will make you say things like just leave and don't put yourself through that again. It is about pain, unconditional love, loss, and finally peace and healing. Wade certainly found the best partner in Gary for so many reasons.
June 9, 2024
This memoir is both marvelous and heartbreaking. Having just finished it a few moments ago, I'm feeling a bit numb and introspective, sad and hopeful. Relationships with parents are rarely easy, and it's likely that many will find something to relate to in Wade's own experiences, whether that be coming out to a parent who will not accept your lifestyle choices, or simply choosing a different path than what is expected. Conditional and unconditional love is such a fine line sometimes. I highly recommend this book to anyone.
December 10, 2025
I met Wade this past summer at a book event. I read his first memoir Americas Boy where I learned all about his life & coming out story. I listened to The Magic Season on audio. It enjoyed hearing Wade tell his story in his own voice. It felt more personal, real & raw. This book told his story about his hard relationship growing up with his father. Wade’s life challenged his father in every way. I would say also for his father’s life challenged Wade’s too. Once Wade decided to live his true life, he never gave up loving his dad & hoping his dad would truly accept him for who he was. Wade’s husband Gary was a true supporter of Wade living his true life & helping him see Wade’s worth. Despite all of the heartbreak, Wade & his father bonded over baseball & I can tell those memories together meant a whole lot. Another book of Wade’s that I truly enjoyed & I just want to hug him! I am glad he is still here & telling us touching stories!
August 21, 2023
Love is not shaped like a heart, it's shaped like a baseball. It comes at you day after day and when you hit it out of the park it's not because you're lucky. It's because you're good.
Memoir of complicated relationship between gay man growing up in rural ultraconservative Midwest full of insightful and accurate baseball analogies.
Memoir of complicated relationship between gay man growing up in rural ultraconservative Midwest full of insightful and accurate baseball analogies.
April 13, 2024
I have read almost all of Viola Shipman’s books. Viola Shipman is the pen name of Wade Rouse. Magic Season is the first nonfiction book of his that I have read. He writes about growing up with a father who he felt never understood or accepted him. He writes about this difficult relationship in parallel with the game of baseball. It is an outstanding story of love and forgiveness. I cannot recommend it enough!
January 18, 2024
This was my first book I read from Wade Rouse. So many points and emotions hit home with me due to many similarities in my childhood into adulthood as his. Page 80 really got me thinking that I may be able to forgive one day. Can’t wait to read more by Wade and Viola Shipman (his pen name)
July 6, 2022
I really enjoyed this book. It shed a light on something we all inevitably face, the aging of our parents. The author did it gracefully overcoming roadblocks from his past
June 6, 2023
I absolutely love this book! The story itself was phenomenal, but seeing how Wade's own experiences and memories are woven into his books was really interesting.
October 29, 2025
There are so many times I could relate to Wade's feelings. So glad I took the time and read this book on being real to yourself and others.
May 22, 2022
Loved that the author narrated this story himself, more meaniful to hear his writing coming from the heart.This was a raw, honest , emotional memoir of his relationship with his father as well as how it shaped him into the man he is today.Truely an inspirational messge to all who reads or listens to this book.
September 25, 2022
Baseball is life! Love the metaphors, the memories & the redemption story.
May 19, 2022
A beautifully written father-son memoir of a difficult relationship with an equally difficult father. Told through the lens of an actual baseball game, perhaps the only level on which this pair was able to connect. A unique, creative way to capture the intricacies of family dynamics.
May 18, 2023
An emotional, challenging read. This is challenging to me because I'm not sure I would have given half the grace and forgiveness Wade Rouse gave his father. His father reminded me a lot of my grandmother who could be very cutting and negative and mean, but who probably thought she was being helpful while trying to "fix" her loved ones. Wade's husband Gary is such a bright light in the story, and I love them for each other.
I'm interested in reading Wade's other stories under his pen name because the women in his family were rocks that the waves crashed into again and again.
I'm interested in reading Wade's other stories under his pen name because the women in his family were rocks that the waves crashed into again and again.
May 5, 2023
Excellent memoir. Wade’s story of his relationship with his father really resonated with me. He was honest without being brutal about his father’s failings and sometimes breathtaking cruelty; but all throughout his love for his father, and all of his family, was abundantly clear. Beautifully written and touchingly narrated by the author. I highly recommend.
May 4, 2023
4.5 rounded up
April 16, 2023
Despite the huge list of books/memoirs and lots of fiction under a pen name, I had never heard of Wade Rouse before. I’m very glad that our book clubs’s great curator, Amy Allen Clark, chose this for the upcoming memoir selection.
So, truthfully I’m not a big baseball fan, and when I began the book and discovered the sections/chapters were titled, THIRD INNING, BOTTOM OF THE (whichever) INNING, I was skeptical.
That particular bit of titling was genius for this story! Part coming of age, part heartbreaking, part heartwarming, with the right sprinkling of baseball metaphor without becoming cheesy.
The book intertwines the coming of age for a young boy, knowingly gay, in the Ozarks. For anyone familiar with the Ozarks of the past, that statement alone announces that we’re in for some tough times. Redeemed by the fact that Wade had a great mom, two supportive grandmas, he was able to get through the early years of being forced to sit on the couch by his Dad and watch St. Louis Cardinal games. Overtime, LOTS of time, the “forcing” wasn’t so bad. Depictions of live games, gone together as a family, and later with Gary, Wades future husband, feel very real….duh, memoir.
I probably highlighted more statements on this kindle edition than I have in a long time. (A subtle reminder that sometimes feeling a certain way because of how we’re treated by parents, may be the result of them doing the best they can.)
This is just GOOD reading!
So, truthfully I’m not a big baseball fan, and when I began the book and discovered the sections/chapters were titled, THIRD INNING, BOTTOM OF THE (whichever) INNING, I was skeptical.
That particular bit of titling was genius for this story! Part coming of age, part heartbreaking, part heartwarming, with the right sprinkling of baseball metaphor without becoming cheesy.
The book intertwines the coming of age for a young boy, knowingly gay, in the Ozarks. For anyone familiar with the Ozarks of the past, that statement alone announces that we’re in for some tough times. Redeemed by the fact that Wade had a great mom, two supportive grandmas, he was able to get through the early years of being forced to sit on the couch by his Dad and watch St. Louis Cardinal games. Overtime, LOTS of time, the “forcing” wasn’t so bad. Depictions of live games, gone together as a family, and later with Gary, Wades future husband, feel very real….duh, memoir.
I probably highlighted more statements on this kindle edition than I have in a long time. (A subtle reminder that sometimes feeling a certain way because of how we’re treated by parents, may be the result of them doing the best they can.)
This is just GOOD reading!
March 23, 2025
Probably not 5 stars, but maybe 4 3/4 for my enjoyment of this memoir! I really appreciated the honesty of the author in exploring the reality that he is gay and his complicated relationship with his father and culture (he was raised in the Ozarks). Ah, so heartbreaking and yet also hopeful, in that Rouse really examined forgiveness while still allowing grief and maintaining boundaries. I was choked up more than once while reading these beautiful chapters.
June 5, 2022
What a fantastic book about a father and son relationship. The impact of our parents is immeasurable. How we craft that impact as adults is multifaceted and a testament. The honesty and emotion are real.
August 10, 2022
I keep bumping into these memoirs...really good memoirs. My husband, a lover of baseball (wootwoot-Yankees!), had read a review about MAGIC SEASON, and wanted a copy. My Goodreads friend, Joani, put it on her "Want to Read" list, sooooo, when Mike finished it, I put it on top of my "Vacation Books" pile. With many interruptions, I easily read thru Rouse's book, as it is divided into many parts of "9 Innings," and perfectly arranged.
A beautiful book about family love, love of baseball-the St. Louis Cardinals, and especially, the love between a father and son, Wade Rouse shared a powerful story that touched my heart, and moved me to tears...connections galore!!! Wade asked the question that many of us ask, "...did I become the (man) I am today because of my father (Ted), or in spite of my father" (p. 25)? And, he recognized that "fear ruled (his) father's life" (56), and knew he didn't want that for himself.
His brother passed (accidental death), his amazingly loving mother followed later, and it was Wade and Ted and the St. Louis Cardinals. Ted expected a different kind of son; one who was more like him: A Ozarks man, working in an acceptable field, doing typical work. That wasn't Wade. There were many "gut punches" thruout their relationship. The only thing they really had in common was their baseball team. But Wade knew, "there would come a time when I needed him, and he would not give me any help. And yet I still persevered....there would come a time when he would need me, and I would be there to help him. And he persevered" (161). "You can only stage a comeback when you realize that you're operating from behind n some way. That doesn't mean it deters you, defeats you or demeans you, It simply sets you up for great things in your next inning" (188).
An important lesson Wade recalls from his mother, is about his dad and bonding, and fear of being hurt. She tells him, "Doesn't mean it doesn't want, need or deserve our love, the poor thing just doesn't know how to show it back" (202). And, another reflection comes later n the story, when Wade shares about his mom leaving the church, and becoming the "family minister," holding services on the patio, under an old oak tree. He says, "I remember her first sermon well; It was about faith, not religion. It was about hope, not fear. It was about acceptance and courage. It was about living honestly versus pretending to live...My mother meant every word she said" (266).
On baseball, Wade was questioned why sports were such a bond for men. Wade thought, "Because we're together."..."But you're not sharing anything. You're not doing anything together. You're just sitting there on your butts, drinking beer, yelling for a team filled with players you'll never know."..."Oh, but we are. We're sharing everything without ever saying a word. We're sitting beside one another, pouring out our emotions for a team--for a group of guys we'll never meet--which is the only way we can do it."..."Do what?"..."Show our love for one another" (204-205).
"Love may seem as round and as easy to toss about from one person to the next, just like an infielder warming up before a game. But it isn't. Love comes right to you, pitch after pitch, inning after inning, game after game, season after season: sometimes it's a fastball, sometimes it's disguised as a knuckler, but most often love is a curve. You don't know where it's going...." (234).
Rouse gives what I am calling a beautiful soliloquy on page 268, discussing faith, "chided...by intellectual friends that want an explanation and solid evidence God exists." The piece goes on for a couple of pages, and is worth every keystroke made. Thank you, Wade Rouse.
I am one of those people that so completely, so totally loved my dad, that this book is "magic" for me. Though our relationship was quite different than the one Wade and Ted had, expressed so lovingly in this memoir, ours, too, was laced with sports--especially baseball. In Wade's acknowledgements focused on his father, I could say some of the same things. We are "imperfect people who are just trying their damnedest most days to do the best they can" (300).
Wade Rouse, I sincerely mean it when I end with, "And, that's a winner, folks" (304).
Thank you.
A beautiful book about family love, love of baseball-the St. Louis Cardinals, and especially, the love between a father and son, Wade Rouse shared a powerful story that touched my heart, and moved me to tears...connections galore!!! Wade asked the question that many of us ask, "...did I become the (man) I am today because of my father (Ted), or in spite of my father" (p. 25)? And, he recognized that "fear ruled (his) father's life" (56), and knew he didn't want that for himself.
His brother passed (accidental death), his amazingly loving mother followed later, and it was Wade and Ted and the St. Louis Cardinals. Ted expected a different kind of son; one who was more like him: A Ozarks man, working in an acceptable field, doing typical work. That wasn't Wade. There were many "gut punches" thruout their relationship. The only thing they really had in common was their baseball team. But Wade knew, "there would come a time when I needed him, and he would not give me any help. And yet I still persevered....there would come a time when he would need me, and I would be there to help him. And he persevered" (161). "You can only stage a comeback when you realize that you're operating from behind n some way. That doesn't mean it deters you, defeats you or demeans you, It simply sets you up for great things in your next inning" (188).
An important lesson Wade recalls from his mother, is about his dad and bonding, and fear of being hurt. She tells him, "Doesn't mean it doesn't want, need or deserve our love, the poor thing just doesn't know how to show it back" (202). And, another reflection comes later n the story, when Wade shares about his mom leaving the church, and becoming the "family minister," holding services on the patio, under an old oak tree. He says, "I remember her first sermon well; It was about faith, not religion. It was about hope, not fear. It was about acceptance and courage. It was about living honestly versus pretending to live...My mother meant every word she said" (266).
On baseball, Wade was questioned why sports were such a bond for men. Wade thought, "Because we're together."..."But you're not sharing anything. You're not doing anything together. You're just sitting there on your butts, drinking beer, yelling for a team filled with players you'll never know."..."Oh, but we are. We're sharing everything without ever saying a word. We're sitting beside one another, pouring out our emotions for a team--for a group of guys we'll never meet--which is the only way we can do it."..."Do what?"..."Show our love for one another" (204-205).
"Love may seem as round and as easy to toss about from one person to the next, just like an infielder warming up before a game. But it isn't. Love comes right to you, pitch after pitch, inning after inning, game after game, season after season: sometimes it's a fastball, sometimes it's disguised as a knuckler, but most often love is a curve. You don't know where it's going...." (234).
Rouse gives what I am calling a beautiful soliloquy on page 268, discussing faith, "chided...by intellectual friends that want an explanation and solid evidence God exists." The piece goes on for a couple of pages, and is worth every keystroke made. Thank you, Wade Rouse.
I am one of those people that so completely, so totally loved my dad, that this book is "magic" for me. Though our relationship was quite different than the one Wade and Ted had, expressed so lovingly in this memoir, ours, too, was laced with sports--especially baseball. In Wade's acknowledgements focused on his father, I could say some of the same things. We are "imperfect people who are just trying their damnedest most days to do the best they can" (300).
Wade Rouse, I sincerely mean it when I end with, "And, that's a winner, folks" (304).
Thank you.
May 9, 2022
Wade Rouse and his father, Ted, were St. Louis Cardinals fans through and through. They spent time together watching games on television and in the stands, swinging between optimism and pessimism as the seasons went by.
However, Wade and Ted had a fraught relationship. Ted, a tough-talking, hard-drinking Ozark engineer, was never supportive of his creative, thoughtful, non-athletic son. After many hours of baseball practice in the yard, Ted never even attended one of Wade’s Little League games. Wade quit baseball, and the tensions between the two continued to grow, reaching what seemed like a nadir when Wade declared journalism as his major in college, but peaking even higher when he came out as gay. Over the years there is anger, misunderstanding, silence and even cruelty. And there are the Cardinals.
In MAGIC SEASON, Wade recalls his complicated relationship with his father, and reflects on fathers and sons, mothers and sons, marriage, identity, forgiveness and acceptance.
The Rouse family suffered great loss when Wade’s older brother died in an accident, which impacted them in various ways. Wade’s mother, an open-minded and open-hearted woman who gave him unconditional love, died of cancer in 2009. Ted’s health started to decline; his drinking increased, and he developed a dependency on prescription painkillers. Then he was diagnosed with dementia.
After moving him to a new, wheelchair-accessible house on family land, Wade is able to help care for his father. He asks himself why he even feels the need to do so. Is it out of guilt, obligation or love? The answer is complicated, and one that he wrestles with throughout the book. Readers find Ted almost unrelentingly mean to his son. Still, Wade continues to seek out the good in his father, the lessons he believes his father is trying to impart to him, and the fears, sorrows and anxieties that his father has never been able to articulate.
Despite Ted’s prophecies, Wade became a successful writer and a good partner for his husband, Gary. But a lifetime of often vicious proclamations and mercurial actions from his father are never quite out of his heart or mind. In caring for his dying father and writing this book, Wade is able to come to terms with their relationship and his own place in his family. Instead of forgiving and forgetting, he takes his mother’s advice to “remember and reconcile.”
Framed inning by inning during Game 4 of the 2015 National League Division Series between the Cardinals and the Cubs, MAGIC SEASON contemplates and considers some very challenging realities, and does so with an uncommon grace and honesty. This weighty account is often made more digestible with humor and lightness --- a fine balance of a profound and difficult personal examination, and a readable and welcoming writing style.
Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman
However, Wade and Ted had a fraught relationship. Ted, a tough-talking, hard-drinking Ozark engineer, was never supportive of his creative, thoughtful, non-athletic son. After many hours of baseball practice in the yard, Ted never even attended one of Wade’s Little League games. Wade quit baseball, and the tensions between the two continued to grow, reaching what seemed like a nadir when Wade declared journalism as his major in college, but peaking even higher when he came out as gay. Over the years there is anger, misunderstanding, silence and even cruelty. And there are the Cardinals.
In MAGIC SEASON, Wade recalls his complicated relationship with his father, and reflects on fathers and sons, mothers and sons, marriage, identity, forgiveness and acceptance.
The Rouse family suffered great loss when Wade’s older brother died in an accident, which impacted them in various ways. Wade’s mother, an open-minded and open-hearted woman who gave him unconditional love, died of cancer in 2009. Ted’s health started to decline; his drinking increased, and he developed a dependency on prescription painkillers. Then he was diagnosed with dementia.
After moving him to a new, wheelchair-accessible house on family land, Wade is able to help care for his father. He asks himself why he even feels the need to do so. Is it out of guilt, obligation or love? The answer is complicated, and one that he wrestles with throughout the book. Readers find Ted almost unrelentingly mean to his son. Still, Wade continues to seek out the good in his father, the lessons he believes his father is trying to impart to him, and the fears, sorrows and anxieties that his father has never been able to articulate.
Despite Ted’s prophecies, Wade became a successful writer and a good partner for his husband, Gary. But a lifetime of often vicious proclamations and mercurial actions from his father are never quite out of his heart or mind. In caring for his dying father and writing this book, Wade is able to come to terms with their relationship and his own place in his family. Instead of forgiving and forgetting, he takes his mother’s advice to “remember and reconcile.”
Framed inning by inning during Game 4 of the 2015 National League Division Series between the Cardinals and the Cubs, MAGIC SEASON contemplates and considers some very challenging realities, and does so with an uncommon grace and honesty. This weighty account is often made more digestible with humor and lightness --- a fine balance of a profound and difficult personal examination, and a readable and welcoming writing style.
Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman
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