Lee Edelstein

Chin Music Lee Edelstein

Chin Music. A 95 mile-per-hour fastball thrown at a hitter?s chin -- an instant?s difference between disrupting the batter?s concentration and hitting him in the head. As a metaphor in life, chin music is the split second when destinies are altered and all of our certainties about who we are change forever. Ryan Buck, a high school senior and talented athlete, is weighed down with guilt over the horrific accident that has shattered his family?s idyllic life. His dad is dead, his younger brother is maimed, and his mom, Susan, is overwhelmed. Suddenly, life is full of challenges. In the aftermath of the crash, Susan is forced to sell the valuable Babe Ruth artifacts that have been in her family for five generations. A chance meeting with Sam, a retired businessman and baseball memorabilia collector, leads to a close friendship that provides the support Susan needs to investigate a secret that has plagued her family for as long as she can remember -- the remarkable encounter between her great grandmother Zel and the immortal Yankee slugger. As Ryan labors, baseball becomes his only outlet, emotionally and physically. When his superior talent for the sport is recognized, a chance at the major leagues becomes a reality, leaving Susan torn between her excitement at Ryan's prospects and protecting her family from the truth that will turn their world upside down. At once a moving story about a troubled kid's dream of making it in baseball, and the struggles of a Mom suddenly alone, trying to do the best for her family, Chin Music will leave readers cheering for more.