I Feel Like Going On: Life, Game, and Glory

Great book on a great Lb to ever play

The story’s a detail he goes into is awesome!

I got a great deal on this book! It was in great shape and was a good read

Arrogant. Narcissistic. Self-serving. Fantastical.Those are the first adjectives that come to mind after reading this autobiography of Ray Lewis.Before launching into a fuller review of this autobiography let me say that in my football viewing lifetime Ray Lewis is one of the three best linebackers I’ve ever seen behind only Lawrence Taylor and Mike Singletary. He is one of the rare defensive players who could literally take over a game single-handedly and was the driving force behind one of the best defensive teams of all time, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. He is the two-time winner of the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award, and the rare defensive player being named the Super Bowl MVP in Super Bowl XXXV. He will certainly be a first ballot NFL Hall of Famer when he is eligible.The first part of the book details how Ray Lewis grew up very poor with numerous siblings from different fathers. One really unusual story is how Ray Lewis got his name. Lewis was not the last name of his father but another man who agreed to let his mother use his name on his birth certificate as the father. And after that is appears his mother went from one bad man to another. Lewis details how he was abused by some of these men as a child and how he lived in the shadow of his real father who was a local sports star gone bad. The lack of a father figure and abuse from other men as a kid certainly appears to have had a negative impact on Lewis.Lewis provides an account of his life growing up poor and often abused with sports being his outlet which kept him on a relatively even path to college and becoming a star at the University of Miami in its football heydays. It’s interesting that he spends relatively few pages detailing his time at Miami but a few interesting items emerge. First his overweening arrogance and disrespect for Coach Butch Davis comes roaring through. Given his attitude that the team was “his” I am a little surprised that he eventually showed the kind of leadership he did in the NFL.The other very interesting story I learned is the origins of his decade long rivalry with Eddie George which had its beginnings in an almost violent confrontation they had a party while in college and George was at Ohio State. I always wondered where their animosity in the pros came from.Once Lewis gets to the NFL is where things start really getting bizarre. Let’s jump right to the infamous night in Atlanta where two men were knifed to death in an incident Ray Lewis was involved in. The entire chapter devoted to this is mostly an attempt to whitewash the entire affair and not everything that Lewis said necessarily adds up to what was reported in the court.Lewis’s story is he was partying with an entourage dressed in a white suit. He maintains that he didn’t even know everybody rolling with this party as there were several hangers on he didn’t know. Leaving the club they were confronted by some hoodlums who threatened Lewis with violence and hit his friend over the head with a bottle. Thus, the profusely bleeding head wound that bloodied Lewis’s white suit. Lewis claims he was trying to protect people in his car as they sped off to gunshots being fired. Later he found out two people were stabbed to death in the altercation and eventually was questioned by police.His account of the event makes some sense, but really doesn’t answer a key question: What happened to the bloody white suit the police were looking for? Well, we still don’t know. If innocent, why have it disposed of, which is clearly what happened.Additionally, rich athletes, especially ones wearing flashy white suits are often targets of verbal or physical violence, or at least provocation. That there were several hangers on that Lewis didn’t even know also makes sense. Of course groupies and others are going to gravitate to Lewis’s group if he lets them in.What is baffling is what happened to the white suit? Why hide it? Why obfuscate the investigation, which clearly happened? Why so defensive when the police originally show up, which Lewis admits to.Then things get even more bizarre. To sum it up, Ray Lewis claimed the police and prosecutors where out to get him and that is how he wound up pleading guilty to obstruction of justice and he claims the entire reason he was charged with obstruction is because he couldn’t name all the people in his car. Where they out to get him? Maybe, who knows?Then it gets even more bizarre. Lewis claim the Atlanta police physically abused him while he was in jail, and goes into great detail about it, at one point saying “I was crucified, man”. This I find hard to believe because if true, someone of Ray Lewis’s stature would be suing the Atlanta police for this. And the police would be stupid to abuse someone of his stature for fear of it getting publicity. Well, I take that last part back, some police are stupid.But, it gets even better!! God started talking to Ray Lewis in his jail cell. And that what was happening to him would make him stronger.Do I believe Ray Lewis murdered anyone? No, having followed the case the prosecutors were incompetent and had little evidence against Ray Lewis other than he was at some point at the scene. In fact, they were so incompetent nobody has been convicted of the crime to this day. I do wonder where the bloody white suit is though. And Ray Lewis’s behavior was certainly suspect after the event. And I don’t think the two murdered men where choir boys. I know nothing about them though, but the whole event does make it look like Ray Lewis was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with people targeting him because he is rich and famous.Finally, the rest of the very strange saga of Ray Lewis. As most people know he suffered a significant injury in his last season with the Ravens that would have ended most players’ season. The Ravens put him on Injured Reserve designated to return (the first year this rule was in place). Ray Lewis did indeed return, not fully recovered from a torn triceps. He likened it to a miracle. And it kind of was.But the real miracle was how Lewis essentially implies he is the reason the Ravens won the Super Bowl and again heard the voice of God during the game in which she or he said “trust Jacoby Jones” and Ray put his hand on Jones’ chest. Jones went on to return the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown. GIVE ME A BREAK!In summary this book is all, I, I, I. Teammates are rarely mentioned in the success of the Ravens, it was all Ray, all the time.It is a little bit hard to even describe how self-serving and delusional this autobiography is.I don’t recommend reading it, unless you like fantasy stories.

Say what you may about Ray Lewis. Think what you want about him. Feel however you wish. But it still does not negate the fact that he is a man who continues to inspire millions of people around the globe. His influence on and off the playing field has grown to a height that may even shock the hell out of Ray himself. I hear people criticize him and and degrade his character all the time on social media. They growl about the mistakes he made in his life. Okay. Yes he made mistakes. May have made a few of them over and over; but hell, who hasn't? Who are we to judge him anyway? I was raised in a Baptist church and what I have learned over the years is only God can judge us. And not only Ray Lewis; but EACH of us.His memoir, I FEEL LIKE GOING ON, is written just as Ray Lewis speaks. While reading it, you feel as though you’re right there having a good ole conversation with him. It is well written and perfectly captures Ray’s voice while telling his story with passion and enthusiasm. He, along with co-author Daniel Paisner, did an excellent job of putting his life on paper and sharing it with the world.Being a sports nut and author myself, I have read dozens of memoirs written by coaches, players and sports figures from nearly every sector of the sports industry. I have also been a fan of Ray Lewis since he played college ball with the University of Miami (even though I ALWAYS rooted again them when they battled my beloved Florida State Seminoles). I've followed his illustrious professional career for 17 years and I've watched him grow and mature into a renowned leader who became the FACE of the Baltimore Ravens organization, on and off the field. The struggles he endured and overcame during his life; the up and downs of his football career; the problems he encountered in life itself but fought back and persevered, they are all detailed in his memoir. These stories along with others are enough to convince anyone to continue through life's adversities. Just as the icon himself, this book, I FEEL LIKE GOING ON, will inspire you to keep on keeping on! It will encourage you to NEVER give up; regardless of the circumstances. I absolutely LOVED this book!Thank you so much Ray Lewis for sharing your story with the world. God bless you and CONTINUE to follow God's plan for your life :)

Just finished this book four minutes ago and as I always do, I'd like to thank Open Books for delivering this book to me.Okay, I've always been a fan of Ray Lewis and I knew that I was going to enjoy this book. Lewis is a candid and straight-shooter type of guy and he gave you that in this book.People think superstars don't hurt, that they don't bleed, or that they are soooooooooooo different from the general public. But guess what? Aint none of that true.In 2000 this what Ray had to go suffer through: The Atlanta debacle (I remember the week it happened; there was so much media attention on Ray that it rivaled the attention that Super Bowl XXXIV got that week); them brute/rogue street and jail cops who violated Ray's civil rights; and of course those racist and coward Pittsburgh Steelers fans at that September 3, 2000 game versus the Ravens.Those ordeals would have SERIOUSLY damaged mentally and physically any man. Yes, those tribulations of 2000 hurt him, but they also served as fuel for his development as a man and as a star inside linebacker for the Ravens.Then of course earlier in the book, he described as a child how he and his mother were beaten by various men that she allowed into their lives as her boyfriends. That chapter really got to me.It's like every stage of his life (adolescent, young man, and then as a grown-ass man) he went through some harrowing s***, but he found ways to get through them and move on with his life. If you don't get something out of this book to help you in your development as a person, then something is SERIOUSLY wrong with you.

Ray's story is one of struggle, determination, focus and God. The book takes you through his early formative years, trying to support his mother as best a kid can do, all the way to his draft into the NFL and the associated highs and lows of the game and life.What you get from this book is a sense that Ray is grounded in the moment. He doesn't give the impression of a guy chasing the money, fame or big houses and cars (and first sight it's easy to assume he's a typical flash sports star). He was very focussed on the game of American Football, only trying to win his battle with the opposition each week.What really shines through in the book is a sense of belief in his leadership, in his ability to get out there and perform, to lead people in all aspects of life. It's not that he talks a big game, it's that he played one - he was no shrinking violet.

Terrific read from an outstanding athlete. This books delves into and describes the motivation that took Lewis to the very pinnacle of his sport. The soon to be first ballot hall of famer shows us the adversity he faced, the struggles and the detours it took to get where he did in the sportSpoken from his personal point of view, this book is an easy read and very motivating for more than just those who love the game of footballVery hard to put down, very easy to remember, one of the best sporting books I've read, up there with Andre Agassi and Jonny Wilkinson in my top sports biographies

Great book and insight to the future hall of famers road to glory.His honest and passion thoughts about the game are clear in this book.Throughout his life you can see the intensity was always there

Absolutely loved this book, as a fan of the NFL I've always loved the NFL version we see of Ray Lewis but there was so much I didn't know about the legendary linebacker and some of the thugs he revealed were quite shocking for a person to go through. I would recommend it for fans of the NFL regardless of what team you support and anyone looking to learn of the sacrifices people make to make it in the game.

I've always been a fan of Ray Lewis, and this book was great at showing how he has often been the underdog throughout his career. I found it inspirational, particulalry Lewis' devout faith in God through the hardest times, and in a modern society where faith seems less important to young people. His desire to overcome injury to win his final Superbowl, often going through the pain barrier, was truly inspirational.