In a Heartbeat

August 9, 2010
Those familiar with the film The Blind Side, or Michael Lewis's best-selling book, will likely already know the inspiring story of how the Tuohys took future-NFL star Michael Oher into their home and adopted him. For anyone wondering what more there might be to say about it, the answer is: plenty. In a Heartbeat finds the Tuohys attempting to determine what it was that made them reach out to the homeless African-American boy they saw walking down the street in a t-shirt and shorts on a winter's day. Leigh Anne and Sean had known tough times themselves and had put themselves on the lookout for troubled kids in need of help. As a white, southern, church-going family, they defy red-state/blue-state stereotypes (for instance, by sending their teen-age daughter to a seminar fostering racial and social justice); though Leigh Anne has been described as a "gun-toting Republican Christian," and admits to carrying weapons, she also claims to cross "party lines all the time." With Jenkins's help they write with humor about their quirks and the joy that Michael brought to their family, finally arriving at the belief that "we can all change people's lives by investing time in individuals."

This book is, in part, the backstory of the hit movie THE BLIND SIDE, about the couple who were moved to adopt a homeless African-American boy they encountered on the street. Michael Oher grew into a gifted football player who played for the University of Mississippi and now plays for the Baltimore Ravens. The memoir is the Tuohys attempt to show the conviction that was at the root of the family's support of Oher. Because the story is told from multiple perspectives, two narrators are used, and the result is slightly uneven. Sean Tuohy is a radio commentator, so he comes across naturally. His clipped diction adds to the story's realism. Leigh Anne Tuohy's narration is personable but too rushed, perhaps reflecting her driven nature. But in sections that provide narrative rather than dialogue her reading sounds forced, with awkward pauses that interrupt the flow. R.C.G. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine