Lady Ref: Making Calls in a Man’s World

At age six, Eastin had a fire raging inside her soul to be the best at something or everything. Having parents who supported and encouraged this yearning, she participated in many sports and excelled in all of them. She especially enjoyed judo and quickly rose to the top of the sport, winning competitions against older participants and accumulating many trophies. In adulthood, this competitive spirit continued, and she began officiating sports, eventually gravitating toward football. She rose up the ranks by officiating high school and eventually college football games, and when NFL referees were locked out during a labor dispute before the 2012 season, she got the chance to officiate in professional games. This made her the first woman to officiate an NFL game (though she crossed the picket line to do it), and she faced sexual harassment and misogyny in the sport. All this she recounts in her highly personal memoir, told in a raw, first-person narrative, with the help of well-known author Kate St. Vincent Vogel (Lost & Found: A Memoir of Mothers). The book details also Eastin’s struggles, relationships, and the large role her faith played throughout her career and life.