J. Girard Jr., Glen Ellyn WHAT IT TAKES J. Girard Jr., Glen Ellyn resident and physician at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, has always loved baseball. He loves the strategy of the game and believes that it’s a game for those who work hard and intelligently. The parallels of the sport’s challenges to real life are what breathes life into his first book, What it Takes. “It was a book I felt I had to write and eventually read to my children to inspire them to live up to their full potential,” says Girard.

His story takes place in 2025 after a second steroid era decimates the game and leaves fans fleeing the sport for others. The owner of the Chicago Cubs is so distraught by the loss of fans and the poor playing of his team, he ridicules the players to the point of making an ill-advised wager that anyone off the street could come in and hit .200 with the proper training. He ends up choosing Jacob Riley, whose shy personality and inferior demeanor are greatly challenged on the formidable stage of major league baseball. Jake is forced to reevaluate the way he approaches the sport and his life in order to stand a chance at succeeding in any capacity.

It was very exciting for Girard when Black Rose Writing wrote to him and informed him they wanted to publish What It Takes. However, there was one hiccup. The book was to be published in October of 2016, right when the Cubs were making their playoff push. “I had to beg the publisher to wait until the World Series was over,” explains Girard. “When the Cubs won, I had to go back and change many parts of the book to make it historically accurate.”

What it Takes is available on all major internet book seller sites including Amazon as well as The Bookstore in Glen Ellyn and Barnes and Noble in Naperville. – Mindy Kyle

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