Above the Noise: My Story of Chasing Calm

Six-time NBA All-Star DeRozan began his basketball life in the 1990s growing up in Compton, CA, with a solid, loving family unit in an community afflicted by gang violence. Basketball gripped DeRozan from age four, and his father was especially vital in keeping him grounded through basketball while his mother, a well-respected pillar in the community, ensured DeRozan was never recruited for gang membership. With fierce loyalty to his community, DeRozan attended high school and college close to home despite opportunities to attend elite basketball schools. After one year at the University of Southern California, he entered the 2009 NBA draft and landed with the Toronto Raptors. He later also played for the San Antonio Spurs, the Chicago Bulls, and the Sacramento Kings. Just before the 2018 NBA All-Star game, DeRozan launched his mental-health awareness advocacy for professional athletes when his pent-up emotions over his life’s traumas and losses led him to post online about his depression. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich wrote this memoir’s foreword, which is narrated by actor John Patrick Walsh, and Aaron Goodson convincingly personifies DeRozan in his performance of this genuine, engaging work (written with Dave Zarum).