Paradise Found: A High School Football Team’s Rise from the Ashes

Product Description

“Friday Night Lights meets Unbroken.” —Tony Reali | “One of the most profound stories you will ever read.” —Ian O’Connor | “Plaschke delivers a masterpiece.” —Jeff Pearlman
From L.A. Times columnist and ESPN Around the Horn panelist Bill Plaschke, a story of tragedy, triumph, and the remarkable power of high school football in one small California town
On November 8, 2018, the Camp Fire ravaged the town of Paradise, California. The fire, which burned up to 80 acres per minute, killed 86 people, and nearly every building and home in the town was reduced to ashes. In a single day, Paradise, a proud working-class town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, saw its population fall from 25,000 to 2,000.
The Paradise High football team had long been the town’s source of joy and inspiration. But in the wake of the fire, their season was abruptly cancelled on the eve of the playoffs. Their championship hopes were gone. Their program’s survival seemed doubtful—it wasn’t even clear whether Paradise High would continue to exist.
Coach Rick Prinz had planned to retire that year after guiding the Paradise High Bobcats for two decades. But after the fire forever altered his beloved town, he realized he couldn’t walk away. What ensued was the challenge of a lifetime. Of the 104 football players at Paradise, 95 had lost their homes. His varsity squad, which had stood 76 strong the previous season, was down to 22. Most of those who remained were homeless, sleep-deprived, lost. On the first day of spring practice, on a debris-ridden patch of grass at nearby Chico Airport, Prinz’s team didn’t even have a football. It was the humble beginning to a memorable journey.
Bill Plaschke, longtime columnist for the Los Angeles Times, followed the Paradise Bobcats throughout a most remarkable season. In this gripping, deeply-reported story of tragedy and resilience, Plaschke reveals the unique power of sports to unite, to inspire, and to heal. As the Paradise players fought to rebuild their broken lives, they found strength in the support of their teammates—and as football returned to Paradise, so, too, did the spirit of the town itself.

Review

“With his pitch-perfect blend of meticulous reporting and vivid storytelling, Bill Plaschke takes you inside the huddle, the homes and the hearts of the Paradise Bobcats and coach Rick Prinz after a historic wildfire leveled their town. Come on up to the rising. Don’t wait for the movie. Read the book. This book.” — DAN SHAUGHNESSY, author of
Wish It Lasted Forever: Life with the Larry Bird Celtics

“Plaschke writes with an empathy and authority that only comes with having earned the trust of those in this resilient town. Tenderly written, expertly researched and reported, it is a book with inspiration on every page.” — GENE WOJCIECHOWSKI, ESPN’s “College GameDay”

“As one of the greatest sportswriters of all time, Bill Plaschke delivers a towering account of a wildfire matched in intensity only by the raging spirit of a California town and a football team that refused to be destroyed by it.
Paradise Found is not a sports book. It’s a book about all-American resilience, and one of the most profound stories you will ever read.” — IAN O’CONNOR,
New York Times Bestselling Author of
Belichick

“Plaschke masterfully captures the passion and suffering of the players, coaches, and athletic director. … Don’t miss Plaschke’s powerful and inspirational sports story about healing and finding humanity in devastating circumstances.” —
Booklist
(starred review)

“A story with more big-picture stakes than that of
Friday Night Lights. … [Plaschke is] a graceful and perceptive writer. … A moving and well-told account of how a battered team regrouped after catastrophic losses.” —
Kirkus Reviews

“In
Paradise Found Bill Plaschke penetrates the ash and smoke left behind after a devastating fire nearly destroyed a community. Writing with compassion and grace, he reveals what still remained untouc