Slow Getting Up

A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

By: Nate Jackson

Narrated by: Nate Jackson

Nate Jackson’s Slow Getting Up is an unvarnished and uncensored memoir of everyday life in the most popular sports league in America - and the most damaging to its players - the National Football League.

After playing college ball at a tiny Division III school, Jackson, a receiver, signed as a free agent with the San Francisco 49ers, before moving to the Denver Broncos. For six seasons in the NFL as a Bronco, he alternated between the practice squad and the active roster, eventually winning a starting spot - a short, tenuous career emblematic of the average pro player.

Drawing from his own experience, Jackson tells the little-known story of the hundreds of everyday, "expendable" players whose lives are far different from their superstar colleagues.

From scouting combines to training camps, off-season parties to game-day routines, debilitating physical injuries - including degenerative brain conditions - to poor pensions and financial distress, he offers a funny, and shocking look at life in the NFL, and the young men who risk their health and even their lives to play the game.

©2013 Nate Jackson (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

true love of football shines in the writing

If you could sum up Slow Getting Up in three words, what would they be?

a great story and a very honest account of how the league can wear a person till they dont fit

What was one of the most memorable moments of Slow Getting Up?

nate was realateable

It's not art, but it is insightful

Would you listen to Slow Getting Up again? Why?

Nate Jackson provides a very clear picture of what life is like for a professional football player, from the pain of a torn muscle to the availability of "jersey chasers" for a pro athlete. He peppers his story with more philosophical meanderings and extended metaphors than you might imagine, but it's largely an instructive, interesting, informative inside look inside the locker room.

decent at best

it brings the reader a perspective of what the NFL is really like. told from someone who had to live paycheck to paycheck to make it in the NFL and faced many injuries along the way. i thought he was a bit harsh on the league and a bit depressing at times.

If you love football, you should listen to this

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Everyone knows that football is dangerous and players often play while hurt, but this book gives new insight into what the average player endures to be part of the NFL. The narration (by Nate himself) is not so great but it is OK and doesn't detract too much from the story. This story manages to give insights into the NFL player life for non-superstars, while not being too graphic or explicit.
Highly recommended if you are a football buff!

A very personal view of life in the NFL

What made the experience of listening to Slow Getting Up the most enjoyable?

You can't help but root for Nate Jackson, who comes across as an unusually self-aware athlete in this engrossing and hilarious book. He's not a superstar and he knows it. But he's a survivor and we benefit from his observations and analysis.

What other book might you compare Slow Getting Up to and why?

This is a much more intimate book than "Collision Low Crossers", looking more at the player than the team. Both are fascinating if you're interested in the NFL.

What does Nate Jackson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

It's a real bonus to have Nate Jackson reading the book. His engaging personality really comes through.

A wonderful look inside the NFL from a journeyman!

A little rough on the delivery, but at least HE told HIS story, rather than having someone else narrate it. Can't wait to start his second book!

I didn't like Nate

I didn't like Nate at first. Although he was the son of teachers from a suburban home, his narration sounded like he was trying to sound like street. But I got used to him and it ended up being a very good story about his journeyman life in the NFL.

Great story of how the NFL works

Thanks for writing the book Nate!! A great honest (apparently) and rich story of the journey including hopes fears joys and disappointments.

Very well written

Thank you Nate. I hope you are happy & doing well these days. Maybe the book was decent post football therapy?

Almost unlistenable...AND I'M A DENVER DIEHARD!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I wouldn't recommend this to a friend whatsoever. Listening to Nate Jackson was akin to hearing cats in a blender.

Has Slow Getting Up turned you off from other books in this genre?

I'll be hard pressed to listen to autobiographies of athletes in the future without sampling the book first.

What didn’t you like about Nate Jackson’s performance?

His performance was very wooden. It felt like he was reading, poorly I may add, straight off the pages instead of telling the story in his own words. Adam Carolla, for example, does a great job maknig his performanace sound like that....a perfomrance, not a 6th grade read in front of the class exercise.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

I wouldnt' see this movie, because nothing enlightening was really shared. It was a story of a guy who's body was continuously breaking down and little else. I wanted more information on some of the struggles to come up with plans on how to play other teams. Intralocker relationships between the players, coaches, and staff. Everythign was super generic in this book.