Finding home

By Maruchi Mendez

Subjects: College athletes, Biography, Baseball players, Health risk assessment, Mothers and sons, Cardiac arrest

Description: "Finding Home is a mother's letter to a most remarkable son, her golden child, the one who left her too soon. It is the true story of Ramiro ''Toti'' Mendez, an All-American college baseball player who starred at Florida International University and Miami's Westminster Christian High School. Toti, whose athletic endeavors graced local headlines, died from an undetected heart condition, without knowing the most important story of his life. This honest memoir is also about untold secrets. Maruchi Mendez never had the chance to explain to Toti about his birth. Toti was born in Asturias, Spain, and illegally adopted by Maruchi and her husband Ramiro, who brought him to the United States. ''How much is the life of a college athlete worth?'' Mendez asks. ''Who is watching out for them?'' Every year, the college scouting system monitors performance, speed, and GPAs, but it fails to do the same when it comes to their health. Meanwhile, athletes continue to drop dead in tracks and fields by the hundreds across the country. The strides Mendez has achieved in her son's name are marked by memories and tears. But they reinforce a mother's love each day and her resolve to tell his story to the world"--Publisher.