Janesville man publishes new book on amateur athletics

A man from Janesville is sharing his story in a brand new book.

“Hearing ‘published author’ is not something I thought would be attached to my name, ever,” said Mike Murphy with a chuckle.

The 23-year-old grew up in Janesville and played basketball at Craig High School. He went on to UW-Platteville to be a student-athlete but injuries cut his career short.

“I tore my rotator cuff my freshman year and the next summer before my sophomore I tore my Achilles tendon,” said Murphy.

In addition to his injuries, Murphy was going some personal issues off the court.

“My parents got a divorce and my little brother had some really serious medical issues at the time, he needed open heart surgery to save his life,” he said.

“I had never been through anything difficult and as soon as I went off to college, it was just like one thing after another that was just piling up. I don’t know if I would have gotten through it if I didn’t go through tough times in my basketball career,” said Murphy.

Last year, some college professors and friends encouraged him to write a book about this experience. The title is “Down and Back: Adversity in Amateur Athletics and Life”. Murphy hopes this book can help younger athletes going through a similar situation.

"I just figured if this many people around me want my knowledge toward amateur athletics and academics and life and just teenage type of topics, then there must be people all around who want the same perspective, or need the same direction. That's really what the book is all about,”

You can purchase his book on Amazon.com