McFadden Place

Since writing my post the article in Golf Digest Index: The Emergency 9, I’ve had a number of great emails. One of which was from the author, Philip Beard, himself. I just picked up a copy of his most recent book – Lost in the Garden – and I’d recommend it to all golfers. The review below is available on amazon. I agree with most of it.

From Publishers Weekly
At first blush, 45-year-old attorney and golfer Michael Benedict seems a knowing, self-deprecatingly witty confidant as he details the breakdown of his long and happy marriage to a “mostly perfect” woman. When his wife, Kelly, announces she is pregnant with their third child at the age of 40, Michael, still traumatized by the miscarriage of their last baby, can only summon up a callous: “What are we going to do about it?” Predictably annoyed, Kelly soon refuses him sex, and heends up moving out of his suburban Pittsburgh house and back home with his wealthy, exasperated parents. There, he seeks out prostitutes and sex therapists, and sets his sights on breaking 70 in his golf game and making the PGA Senior Tour at 50. After a promising start, Beard doesn’t provide enough plot to keep the reader from losing patience with Beard’s self-absorbed mid-lifer and his games (sporting and otherwise).

Copyright ?Ǭ© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

For those that know me, it’s tough to argue with a book based on a guy who loves golf married to a woman named Kelly. Can you ask for a better set up? Not to mention I’m not 40 yet; and I’ve been preparing my Kelly for my opportunity to go for the Senior Tour. So many similarities it’s uncanny.

Anyway, its worth picking up. Especially if you’re still trying to break 70 …

Best wishes, Mike

PS, I’ve attached Philip’s recent press release:

Dear Friends and Readers,

Just a quick update on current happenings:

* Just in time for Father’s Day, Plume has released the paperback of Lost in the Garden. It’s now available from all of your favorite online and bricks & mortar bookstores.

“What’s not to love about a book devoted to one man’s search for the sweet spots on both the golf clubs and the women in his life? Philip Beard is no less sublime writing about sex than he is writing about golf, and his golf writing soars like a Phil Mickelson five-iron. By turns rollicking, ribald, poignant and sweet, Lost in the Garden is a delightful gem of a book by a writer in complete control of his game.”

–Austin Murphy, Sports Illustrated

If you haven’t had the chance to read this one yet, I hope you’ll give it a look. It was nominated for the USGA’s 2006 International Book Award, but judging by the feedback I’ve gotten from many non-golfer females, it’s being enjoyed by all types of readers.

* Dear Zoe has recently been added to Penguin’s Literature and Language catalog (in the New Voices in Literature section) as a recommended classroom text for colleges and high schools. This is a really nice development that ensures Dear Zoe won’t disappear any time soon. Please pass this along to teachers or professors who might be interested. I’m always happy to try to arrange phone interviews or visits to classrooms that are reading it.

* For you golfers, I currently have feature articles in the June issue of Golf Digest (a short piece on Whistling Straits) and in the Spring issue of Golf Digest Index (about my good friend Eric Schmitt’s 29 on the front nine at Fox Chapel). Thanks to an enthusiastic blogger, the INDEX piece is now available online here: http://mcfaddenplace.com/blog/category/travel/golf/

That’s it for now. Please pass this e-mail along to friends, family and all who might be interested using the feature below. As always, thanks so much for your continuing support.

Philip
pbeardii@scbslaw.com
www.philipbeard.net
111 Brilliant Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15215