Lessons in Life, Lessons of Love

It is 1967 in rural Minnesota and Mikey Hennen is a soon-to-be sixth grader who is about to bond with three people who will greatly influence his life amid an ever-changing world. Sister Marie Agnes is a Bahamian nun who opens Mikey’s eyes to the world around him by teaching him about race, human relations, and the joys of the written word and music. From his great-grandmother, Mikey discovers the importance of family and of living a full life. After his mother’s cousin, Peter, befriends Mikey, he soon discovers they share a mutual love for baseball, and that Peter is eager to enlist in the military to help win the Vietnam War. As the war debate is brought home, Mikey must muddle through a sea of change, all while clinging to the one certainty he knows will always be there for him—baseball. In this coming-of-age tale, a boy must lean on his great-grandmother, a Vietnam-bound cousin, and a Bahamian nun for guidance while struggling with growing pains and the challenges of his time.