Its Hard for Me to Live with Me, Rex Chapman
Its Hard for Me to Live with Me, Rex Chapman
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

It's Hard for Me to Live with Me
A Memoir

Author: Rex Chapman, Seth Davis

Narrator: Rex Chapman

Unabridged: 6 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/27/2024


Synopsis

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A powerful memoir from the University of Kentucky basketball legend, NBA veteran, and social media influencer about his recovery from addiction.

He is considered by many the greatest basketball player ever produced by the hoops-crazy state of Kentucky. In two years at the University of Kentucky, he scored over 1,000 points, led the Wildcats to a Sweet Sixteen appearance, and was nicknamed “King Rex.” The first player ever drafted by the Charlotte Hornets, he spent twelve seasons in the NBA, dazzling in dunk contests and sinking one of the most memorable buzzer-beaters in league history. But by the end of his career, Rex Chapman was harboring a destructive secret.

Years before America’s opioid crisis would become national news, Chapman developed a dependency on Vicodin and Oxycontin, ultimately ingesting fifty painkillers a day. In addition, he developed a severe gambling addiction, once nearly losing $400,000 at a Las Vegas blackjack table. All this would cost him his family as well as most of the $40 million fortune he’d made in basketball, leaving him to live in his car and shoplift to support his addictions. Only when he was arrested—and his mugshot made national news—did he finally commit to getting clean.

In It’s Hard for Me to Live With Me, Chapman—who has amassed millions of social media followers for his relatable and uplifting posts—tells the story of his addiction and recovery in unflinching detail. With equal frankness, he describes his history with depression; the racism he witnessed growing up and how that shaped his outspokenness on matters of social justice; and his complex and volatile relationship with his father, also a former professional basketball player. Cowritten with New York Times bestselling author Seth Davis, Chapman’s memoir is an equally devastating and inspiring story about the human struggle for self-acceptance.

About Rex Chapman

Rex Chapman was a standout basketball player at the University of Kentucky, played twelve seasons in the NBA, and served in the front offices of several NBA teams. He has worked as a broadcaster for both professional and college basketball and hosted the CNN+ show Rex Chapman as well as the iHeart podcast Charges with Rex Chapman. He currently hosts the Smartless podcast Owned. A native of Kentucky, he lives in New York City.

About Seth Davis

Seth Davis is a studio analyst for college basketball at CBS Sports and senior writer at The Athletic. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Wooden: A Coach’s Life and When March Went Mad: The Game Transformed Basketball.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Mark on February 28, 2024

This book is an intimate look at a remarkable athlete, his successes and his life-altering battle with substance abuse. Rex Chapman, one of the greatest and best-liked basketball players in college and NBA history, has written an unvarnished and raw account of his struggles with addiction and gambli......more

Goodreads review by Allison on March 07, 2024

Did I just fall in love with Rex Chapman? I had no idea Rex Chapman was almost a Louisville Cardinal! How I wonder what Chapman's life would be like now if he wasn't lured by the legendary Wildcat Lodge and was coached in college by Denny Crum. I was a freshman in high school when Chapman was at UK.......more

Goodreads review by John on May 25, 2024

This is a book that Kentucky fans will both love and hate. The guy is a total mess. It seems like the book was released this year as another media attempt to talk about the evils of Donald Trump. For a guy who blew through 40 millions dollars, was a terrible father, husband and drug addict it is wei......more

Goodreads review by Traci on April 01, 2024

Although the writing of this was not great, it was definitely a page turner (obviously, since I read in one day). As a grown woman who has spent her entire life following Kentucky basketball, some of this was even hard to read. At any rate, Rex Chapman is brutally honest about all the choices that l......more

Goodreads review by Johanna on June 20, 2024

I was a freshman with Chapman & had heard all of the stories surrounding him and the UK program. I always swore Casey was the scapegoat—seems like I’m not the only one who believes that. I loved this memoir—I’ve followed Chapman’s career and I love that he has overcome so many adversities. This book......more


Quotes

"Former University of Kentucky great, NBA player, and social influencer Rex Chapman narrates a brutally honest account of his fall from basketball stardom to opioid addiction...His story is never self-aggrandizing, and hearing his words in his own voice adds to the authenticity of this audiobook."