Title of the Book: Orr: My Story
Author: Bobby Orr
Number of Pages: 304
Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ 

“I’m not ever doing a book …Who would want to read that book anyway?” Bobby Orr said this when he was asked to write a book about his life. Thankfully he changed his mind and so, Orr: My Story was created. This book is an autobiographical reflection of Bobby Orr’s life from his early, simple beginnings in Canada to his life in the National Hockey League.  Throughout the book Bobby Orr talks about his childhood, upbringing, and how his hockey career progressed. He discusses the various people he met that both helped and hindered him and tells the story of the lessons he learned along the way. His book is filled with small pieces of advice and important information to make you a better athlete and a better person. Bobby Orr uses humor and self-deprecation to weave a story about his life that touches on his accomplishments without bragging about them.

At first, it seems as though this book would only appeal to hockey players, but the lessons and information that is shared by Bobby Orr throughout this book can be applied to almost any area of life. Bobby Orr is a quiet and reserved narrator who spends most of the book praising others around him and trying to keep the spotlight off of himself even in his own book. It is that modesty and selflessness that makes it an enjoyable and relatable read. Throughout the book, the theme of personal responsibility is emphasized in a variety of ways. Bobby Orr really wants athletes of all sports and people of the world to take control over things they have the power to control and not seek to blame others when things go wrong. It is this general, but very important message that I think really helps all people to find really connection in this book.

As a hockey player I really enjoyed this book. I had a general understanding of Bobby Orr as a famous hockey player, but was not familiar with what he had to overcome as a child with relatively modest beginnings. Due to his “voice” in the book it is easy to find ways to connect with him as a narrator because it feels so conversational and natural. Despite the fact that there is some hockey specific language to someone who has no knowledge of the game, Bobby Orr does an excellent job at making the language accessible and understandable even if you know nothing about hockey to start. I really enjoyed Orr: My Story and I know others would too.