The Pettis Norman Story
A Journey through the Cotton Fields, to the Super Bowl, and into Servant Leadership
By Pettis Burch Norman
I have to hand it to my Facebook followers. They’ve hung in there during this long process of writing and publishing my autobiography. This has been a five-year journey! Why did it take so long to complete the manuscript? Well, I kept stumbling across new stories (actually, old stories that have never before been told), photographs, and insights I had initially forgotten!
This is a full-span book covering 82 years of adventures, and finally it’s on Amazon, just in time for Christmas!
In following blog posts I’ll talk about my contributors — names you know and love from the gridiron, television, and radio. These are the friends and colleagues who add extra interest to the book and share their firsthand accounts and vivid memories. So… you’re getting many stories wrapped in one, a real trip down memory lane!
Some in the publishing world suggested I split the book and write about 1.) my football career leading up to my retirement from the NFL and, 2.) my entrepreneurial career and public involvement leading up to a second retirement in my very late seventies. My answer was no — I really love the full story arc of this book, and you’ll definitely get your money’s worth. It’s a big autobiography, gripping and poignant at the same time.
Most of all, it’s a story of a life well-lived. Why well-lived? Well, I lost my father when I was ten and my mother when I graduated from Johnson C. Smith University. It speaks well of my parents that at 22 years of age, I had soaked up the lessons they taught me — decency, faith, and truth-telling. I’ve tried to live my life according to these standards, and you’ll see that in the book as well.
A Great Holiday Gift
My autobiography will make a great gift for football fans, entrepreneurs, civil rights historians, and those who value faith — this is very much a spiritual journey too. I hope everyone enjoys it!