RUNNING FOR MY LIFE - Warrick Dunn
Written in 2008, it is the autobiography of the former Buccaneer running back.

The BUCPOWER.COM review
Everybody loves Warrick Dunn. One of the most popular running backs the franchise has ever had, the typical small over-achiever who became a success in his chosen career.

But Warrick also carried a burden off the field too. His mother, a serving police officer, was killed in the line of duty when he was in high school. Warrick not only went through college at Florida State and into the NFL with that scar, but also bore the responsibility of looking after his younger brothers and sisters too.

This is a well-written book in conjunction with Don Yeager and additional contributions from Tony Dungy, that make you truly realise what Warrick went through during those years. And it also tells of the amazing work he has done off the field in raising money for homes for under-priviliged or single families.

There is enough Buccaneer reference material in there for the die-hard Tampa Bay fan to learn more about his five years in Tampa from 1997 to 2001, although this was written before he returned for one final season with the Bucs in 2008.

Whilst not a truly outstanding read, it is still one that should be recommended for all Buccaneer fans.

Other reviews
Betty Dunn Smothers was a Baton Rouge police officer and a single Mother with six children. In addition to working fulltime as a police officer she also took on after hours security work at department stores, convenience stores, and football games.

On January 7, 1993 while working an extra-duty security job at a Piggly Wiggly grocery store she was taking an employee to make a night deposit at the bank and she was ambushed and shot and killed. Officer Smothers was Warrick's mother. Warrick would never be the same. A senior in high school, Warrick had to become the Parent of his five brothers and sisters.

Throughout the story that follows, which includes his college and professional football careers, Dunn had to carry the extra burden of making sure his family was safe, disciplined, and going in the right direction. When Warrick was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft and signed the lucrative contract that followed, he never forgot where he came from and the lifelong stress and dreams that his deceased mother had always carried with her, especially the dream of a single mother to get a nice home for her kids.

His first NFL coach was a devout-spiritual-man, Tony Dungy. Tony told him that one of the first things he should do is make a commitment to helping the community. Warrick had already had that desire, but hadn't really found the right vehicle that would make him feel complete. Then because of his never-ending thoughts of his mother, he devised a way to help deserving single Mom's down on their luck.