The Voice

Issue date: 1/16/07 Section: Sports

A miracle is something that occurs on a rare basis; that's why it's a miracle. Even more rare is the capturing of the miracle through its process.

Steve Rom and Rod Payne are the authors who captured the realization of a modern day miracle along with a blossoming, but unlikely friendship.

Rom is an up-and-coming sports journalist working for the Ann Arbor News and Payne is the 1996 MVP for the University of Michigan football team.

The friendship is unlikely in the sense that it is rare that you find an athlete and a journalist befriending one another.

Centered by a Miracle (A True story of Friendship, Football, and Life) is a book based upon the evolving friendship between Rom and Payne, as well as the battle that they both fight when Rom is diagnosed with leukemia.

The book takes you on a roller coaster ride, as the two take you down a road that involves life lessons, good times, and the battling of a potentially fatal disease.

The book starts off with Rom lying in a hospital bed briefly describing his situation, not knowing what has come over him except severe flu symptoms. The day after Christmas in a Los Angeles hospital Rom received word that his blood tested positive for leukemia.

After further description of the situation, which included intense tension that built up between Rom and the hospital staff, the authors introduce us to Payne.

From there, the two authors dive into where their friendship began, in the office of former U-M tailback Jaime Morris.

After their first meeting it was by mere coincidence that they caught up a second time and if not for that fateful day, the two may not have developed a friendship that helped Rom defeat leukemia and turn a friendship into a brotherhood.

Prior to the start of each chapter the authors included a quote relative to the up coming chapter and the fight that both Rom and Payne were going through.

The way their friendship and the overall journey were captured into words was excellent, with many great stories and quotes to help the reader feel like they too were part of the fight.

It's life experiences like this that put things into perspective for those who may be struggling to find answers.

For those who appreciate a great story of friendship, teamwork, and a little bit of football, this is definitely a book you should check out.

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