BOOK REVIEWS
Autobiography
Shades of Blue
David White
We Rate:
BOOK SYNOPSIS
David White was born in Manchester in 1967 with football flowing in his veins. Driven by his football mad Dad, David's prodigious Talent was spotted early and he soon signed covered his schoolboy forms from Manchester City, the team that he'd supported since boyhood. a meteoric Rise through the club's ranks led to his first team debut at the age of 18, and he continued to light up Maine Road's right wing for the next eight years. it was a career that would take him to the hearts of playing for his country.
But David's performance on the pitch was frequently blighted by a lack of confidence and consistency, traits that baffled his fans and family. Only David knew the real reason behind his struggles. only David knew who had shot his confidence to pieces, only David knew that, aged just eleven, he had been sexually abused by his football coach, Barry Bernell.
Shades of Blue tells the story of David's extraordinary life: his passion for football, the drama of his games and his fight to OutRun the Shadow of that early abuse. having spent years feeling that he had to conceal his secret in order to protect his father and his football career, it is only now that David has felt able to give a full and honest account of his life - one with a powerful message that aims to repair the damage at the very heart of the sport.
OUR REVIEW
A poignant tale of how something that you just can't comprehend can have such an impact on someones life, how they are forever fighting the horrific memories and how its just so hard to cope when you seemingly can't talk about it to anyone through fear and shame, when actually we learn just how brave people can be when these life changing events occur.
When I think about David White the footballer, I think about how he was a very good striker in an era when I was just getting into football. How he only managed to win a singular cap for England always baffled me at the time and subsequent years. It was only when the nature of the sexual abuse came out, that you understand the impact that it had on him, how confidence plays such an important role and poorer we are as football fans, not seeing a striker like White reach his potential.
The book is very moving, details the abuse enough to know how horrific it was but then ultimately how he was always fighting his thoughts and emotions and carrying a great burden throughout his career. It's so impressive to see how good he was able to be, in particular at Manchester City and being able to park his thoughts as much as possible.
When you come across these books that offer vivid information on terrible crimes, it can only make you admire the person more and relate to the people that go through these awful moments. If you can stomach these type of books, its very much a leveler for yourself and well worth a read about a brave guy like David White.
