Recovery of a Lifetime

CNN.com:

As the 49ers and Ravens take the field in New Orleans’ Super Dome for Super Bowl XLVII, a man very familiar with that field, Chris Reis, will be watching the game with his family.

It was only three years ago that Reis was playing in the big game for the New Orleans Saints. He burst into the national spotlight with one unusual, but game-changing play, an onside kick recovery that surprised the opposition and many say paved the path for the Saints’ 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

It was an unlikely position for a kid who grew up in a broken family, with a father who was in and out of his life and addicted to sex and alcohol. Reis broke through the obstacles to succeed, he says, in part by finding God in high school. He went on to play for Georgia Tech where he served as president of the school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He was briefly signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Falcons, but the team cut him loose before he even saw field time. The Saints then signed him as a free agent, but sent him to play in the NFL Europe league. Later that year the team called him back to New Orleans where he played the next four years with the Saints.

His father, Mike Reis, finally broke the cycle of addiction after watching his son make that critical Super Bowl play – and realizing how much he’d overcome to get there. The pair is now closer than ever and recently co-wrote a book about their journey, “Recovery of a Lifetime.” They also share their stories, touring around the country as inspirational speakers.

Chris Reis sat down with CNN to talk about the book and his life experiences. Here are excerpts from that interview.  

Read the rest.

Get the book here.