About “How the Ball Bounced”

How the Ball Bounced is the memoir of an exuberant tomboy’s quest to prove herself by plowing through gender barriers of the conservative 1950s and the political and social upheaval of the 60s and 70s.

With a passion for athletics and a chip on her shoulder, she forges forward, fighting for equality but invariably careening into cultural curves just a little too early and occasionally crashing into brick walls.

With humor and raw honesty, the author carries us with her on her unusual journey: from a childhood of not fitting in; to playing semi-pro softball on an adult traveling team at only twelve; to quitting college at twenty-one to work with the United Farmworkers and find herself playing handball against Cesar Chavez; to competing in Division I basketball just as Title IX began to change the trajectory of women’s sports; to befriending and smoking cocaine with NBA stars; to playing professionally in France and Germany; and finally, to questioning what she wants from life and what the hell is she was trying to prove all this time, anyway.

Her passion for basketball remains, and into her seventies, she still stars in international senior tournaments. A local legend in the pickup game scene, she still competes with males and females of all ages.