TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – “A parent can trust, if their kids are reading these books, they are not only going to have fun but they are going to get a good message.”
Tony Dungy – who has experience as an NFL player, coach and analyst – is also a published author. Tony and his wife Lauren visited our station on Wednesday morning to talk about their newest children’s books.
The first book, “We Chose You: A Book About Adoption, Family, and Forever Love,” focuses on the creation of a family through the adoption process. Tony and Lauren adopted eight of their 11 children.
“Adoption is very near and dear to our hearts,” said Lauren. “We have eight children at home who are adopted so it was very important to tell that story that God creates families in many different ways and adoption is just one.”
The second book, “Carson Chooses Forgiveness,” shares a story of two teammates who have to overcome a disagreement on the basketball court.
I asked Tony and Lauren where they find the inspiration for these stories. I should have guessed the answer.
“Just looking at our children and experiencing some of the conflicts and challenges that they have gives us the inspiration to write these stories,” said Lauren. “Tony and I work together and we create a storyline and, then, we tweak it.”
Tony added, “We are always on the lookout for ideas and something will happen and we will say, ‘This is something we can write about!’ We took our kids to a football game to see their older brother play and we said, ‘We have to stay together,’ and, of course, one ran off so that is a story. A team stays together.”
If you would like to purchase these books and get signatures from the authors in the process, you can meet Tony and Lauren at their book signing on Friday, Aug. 30, at Barnes & Noble. The event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. The address is 11802 North Dale Mabry Highway.
