Crossing the Line
A Fearless Team of Brothers and the Sport That Changed Their Lives Forever
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
"A marvelous addition to the literature of inspirational sports stories." - Booklist (Starred Review)
"This remarkable and inspiring story shines." - Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"Crossing the Line will not just leave you with hope, but also ideas on how to make that hope transferable” - New York Times bestselling author Wes Moore
An inspiring memoir of defying the odds from Kareem Rosser, captain of the first all-black squad to win the National Interscholastic Polo championship.
Born and raised in West Philadelphia, Kareem thought he and his siblings would always be stuck in “The Bottom”, a community and neighborhood devastated by poverty and violence. Riding their bicycles through Philly’s Fairmount Park, Kareem’s brothers discover a barn full of horses. Noticing the brothers’ fascination with her misfit animals, Lezlie Hiner, founder of The Work to Ride stables, offers them their escape: an after school job in exchange for riding lessons.
What starts as an accidental discovery turns into a love for horseback riding that leads the Rossers to discovering their passion for polo. Pursuing the sport with determination and discipline, Kareem earns his place among the typically exclusive players in college, becoming part of the first all-Black national interscholastic polo championship team—all while struggling to keep his family together.
Crossing the Line: A Fearless Team of Brothers and the Sport That Changed Their Lives Forever is the story of bonds of brotherhood, family loyalty, the transformative connection between man and horse, and forging a better future that comes from overcoming impossible odds.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Rosser debuts with the captivating story of how he came to be a champion polo player after his challenging childhood in West Philadelphia. Rosser details his mother's battles with addiction, his brothers' continuous fight to stay out of prison, and his best friend's murder, which resulted in his own struggles with anxiety and PTSD. In his neighborhood, known as "The Bottom," drug abuse and gun violence were prevalent, but he found solace in the Work to Ride stables, a local organization which provided children the opportunity to learn how to play polo. The sport, with its ethos of hard work and brotherhood, gave him a vision for how to embrace a brighter future. After earning a spot on the first all-Black interscholastic polo championship team and diligently working on his polo skills, he won a place on the Colorado State University collegiate team and later led them to a national title. Rosser's prose is restrained but confident as he notes how fortunate he was to have polo in his life, and how he was able to defy expectations as a young Black boy on the polo field. This remarkable and inspiring story shines. Correction: An earlier version of this review misnamed the Work to Ride stables. It also contained an error in the timeline of the author's collegiate athletic career.
