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He wrote his first novel An Irish Heartbeat in 2011. He formed a health and fitness company ( Speedflex) with Graham Wylie and Alan Shearer, with Ferris as Chief Executive. If the same fate befell a young starlet now, they would at least leave the club with enough in the bank to ensure they were comfortable until another opportunity arose. I came out with nothing at all. I remember calling at a friend’s house and his mum answered the door and when she asked what I was doing there, I told her I needed somewhere to stay. That I didn’t want to go home yet because I think I can still get fit. His electrifying pace, a drop of the shoulder that bamboozled many a defender and the coolness of a killer in front of goal, Ferris was one of - if not the- first to be landed with the ‘new George Best’ tag. I wrote the book and sent the manuscript off in about November time, and I was having ongoing talks with the doctors. I’d had tests done, and then I got a diagnosis probably about three days after the manuscript was finished.
But when he was handed the task of saving the skin of his home town club midway through the 2008/2009 season, Ferris was the first person he called. Whether that’s the right way for football to go, I’m not sure, but after five years of being a professional footballer to walk away with nothing… football was a very different game then. It wasn’t in the stratosphere then that it is now.” The mental challenges and psychological impact of living with this acute condition are explored in Paul's revealing and riveting narrative that represents rare male honesty, but this is never a 'poor me' book or not in any way self-pitying. Courageous, inspirational and beautifully written, The Magic in the Tin is a rare thing: deeply moving yet rich in humour, written by a true sportsman in every sense of the word.
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Paul, the youngest sibling, was five when their home was petrol bombed. Another night his parents were set upon by a Loyalist gang as they left a club. You don’t forget things like that. PAUL Ferris would have every reason not to be so chipper when the phone rings for the umpteenth time. A long haul of press interviews and media obligations have filled recent weeks, and they’re not over yet.
Paul had just finished the manuscript of the book and sent it off to the publishers when he received his cancer diagnosis two days later. “I suspected that outcome before it was confirmed and that is why I wrote what I did in the book,” he says. The mental challenges and psychological impact of living with this acute condition are explored in Paul's revealing and riveting narrative that represents rare male honesty, but this is never a 'poor me' book or not in any way self-pitying. Courageous, inspirational and beautifully written, The Magic in the Tin is a rare deeply moving yet rich in humour, written by a true sportsman in every sense of the word. But when the offer to join Newcastle United came, even my teachers said it was too good an opportunity to turn down. Strangely, no one even suggested that I might have an academic career.”I had to radically change my lifestyle, which I have done, I had to radically change my diet, which I have done. I was doing quite well with that and then I got prostate cancer…” he says before bursting into laughter. But this is no misery memoir. There are dark days, but also times when life soared to heights he could never imagine. It is also not a run-of-the-mill book about football, but a well-rounded, exceedingly candid account of his life on and off the pitch and of his family, warts and all.
Former Newcastle United winger Paul Ferris was 51. He had successfully forged a post-football career as a physio, barrister and then a CEO, and his award-winning memoir, The Boy on the Shed , was just about to be published. But then he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. This honest, sometimes brutal and frequently funny book tells the story of what happened next. Today, thanks to a chance meeting with multi-millionaire businessman Graham Wylie, Paul is the managing director of a health and fitness company that recently opened five new outlets and plans to open several more in the coming months.This is a brave yet humorous book which will serve a valuable purpose by highlighting that this disease can be beaten and hopefully encouraging that every man goes and gets a PSA test regularly a prevention is far better than cure. Ferris's wonderful memoir represents a twin triumph ... and his writing is a pure pleasure. * The Times * I don’t know what possessed me to get this book. I found it online by chance. The title of the book doesn’t exactly give it away, but seeing the familiar name of Paul Ferris, a player around in the time when I was starting to go to St James Park regularly, it was an obvious choice. It’s also been nominated (and I’m guessing won) for the Sports Book Awards, so it was guaranteed to be a good read.
I tried to finish the book on a positive note, but I thought the cancer diagnosis might be coming so the last bit of it, I felt very emotional when I was writing it,” he admits.
Summary
A fascinating life story, bearing much heart and soul as well as being 'warts and all'. It is well worth reading for its honesty and its insights by any reader and will be a particularly absorbing read for anyone with an interest or love for 'the beautiful game' as well as Ulster readers and those who remember the would-be local football star from these shores. * Irish Tatler * The appeal of his astute story-telling is that this book works on levels that reach far beyond football.
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