The Ultimate Comeback: Surviving a Suicide Attempt, Conquering Depression, and Living with a Purpose - Softcover

Kramer, Erik; Croyle, William

Softcover

ISBN 13: 9798218279271

Publisher: Whitsett Avenue Publishing, 2023

Synopsis

Renowned among rabid football fans in the 1990s, Erik Kramer guided the Detroit Lions to within one win of Super Bowl XXVI, set passing records for the Chicago Bears that still stand, and carved out a respectable eleven-year NFL career, despite being unrecruited in high school and undrafted out of college. But for more than two decades, during his playing days and beyond, Erik silently suffered from depression. On August 18, 2015, after the deaths of his son Griffen to a heroin overdose and his mother to cancer, Erik pressed the cold barrel of a loaded gun firmly under his chin, closed his eyes, and pulled the trigger. It was supposed to be the end.

Instead, it was a rebirth.

The Ultimate Comeback chronicles Erik’s improbable rise to gridiron fame, his catastrophic plunge into the black hole of depression, and his miraculous physical and mental recovery following his suicide attempt. With empathy, sensitivity, and humor, Erik balances the grief from his darkest days with riveting stories of his upbringing and life as an NFL quarterback and reveals how, through grit and perseverance, he tackled the depression that nearly took his life.

About this title

About the Authors

Erik Kramer was the 1986 ACC Player of the Year for the North Carolina State Wolfpack and an NFL quarterback for eleven years with the Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, and San Diego Chargers. Erik led the Lions to the NFC Championship Game in the 1991-92 season; the team finished one victory shy of making it to Super Bowl XXVI. He still holds several team passing records with the Falcons and Bears. Erik is the father of Dillon and Griffen and lives in Agoura Hills, California. He enjoys reading, golfing, traveling, coaching football, and sharing his story with people young and old to help them overcome depression and other challenges in their lives. You can follow Erik and learn more about his life and mission on X (formerly Twitter) via @EKPass or on Facebook at facebook.com/erik.kramer.505.

William Croyle is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and a graduate of St. Ignatius High School and Ashland University. He and his wife have three sons and live in Erlanger, Kentucky. William is a former journalist for the Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper and the author of thirteen nonfiction books written with and about some of the world's most inspirational people, including a school shooting survivor, a young mother with stage four cancer, and the last person found alive beneath the World Trade Center rubble after 9/11. You can read more about his books at www.williamcroyle.com or facebook.com/williamcroylebooks.

Edition details

• Publisher: Whitsett Avenue Publishing
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798218279271
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 250