Join us for the pub week debut of The Final Victory by Roger Jones: a novel that fuses the riveting action of The Boys in the Boat with the emotional heft of The Fault in Our Stars, twenty cancer patients compete in a grueling race only to discover that real victory is achieved within. Jones, a Dragon Boat enthusiast himself, will shed light on the novel that was inspired by true events and whose story continues to inspire paddlers and non-paddlers alike to dig deep, give back, and have fun.
“What is courage? In this notable debut, Roger Jones explores the strength, resilience, compassion, and willpower of a band of athletes who define courage and triumph over unspeakable odds. These twenty men and women overcome cancer to not merely win a national championship but to survive. I laughed. I cried. I was inspired. The Final Victory is an uplifting novel we all need to read.”
– Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times bestselling author
Tickets: Purchase HERE
$10 – Members or $15 – General Admission
About The Final Victory
A proud man humbled by his recent diagnosis of neuroendocrine cancer and his past mistakes, Tripp Avery reluctantly agrees to coach a paddling team in a bid to win the Mixed Masters Dragon Boat US national championship. In his boat: twelve men and eight women who all have cancer diagnoses as debilitating as his. Eager to defy his prognosis and prove his worth, Tripp pushes himself and his team to physical and emotional extremes.
As the races begin in the Tennessee summer heat, four teammates’ extreme physical challenges stand out:
Sean Riley, suffering from advanced colon cancer.
Pat Selensky, whose life-threatening treatments for ovarian cancer test her passion to live.
Thomas Huger, ex-All-American college football player, coping with jaw cancer and a humbling dependence on a feeding tube.
Brooke Wyche, whose chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer have weakened her body.
After losing a critical race, Tripp doubles down, but his overbearing coaching brings Brooke to the point of collapse and sends Thomas to the hospital. Facing this crisis, Tripp must confront his own demons in order to help his teammates forge a comeback. But with Thomas in critical condition and the other paddlers flagging, the team’s chances to win the national championship are slim.
A debut novel that is equal parts thrilling and inspiring, THE FINAL VICTORY is the heart-wrenching story of twenty brave men and women confronting adversity, facing death, and striving together for the ultimate triumph.
About Roger Jones
Roger Jones, businessman, philanthropist, humanitarian and avid athlete has founded numerous business and community organizations. In 1996, he started Companion Associates, Inc., one of South Carolina’s largest privately held real estate development firms. He has helped to establish Reading Partners of South Carolina, Charleston Social Venture Partners, and The Charleston Paddle Club. He has served on the board of directors of The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce; Healing NET, a national non-profit that educates physicians and patients regarding Neuroendocrine Cancer; and The South Carolina Writers Association among many others. In 2009 Roger and his wife, Teresa Jones, an award-winning artist, founded The Companion Foundation to create affordable housing and educational programs for the underserved community. Roger was inducted into his high school athletic Hall of Fame and celebrated his sixtieth birthday by paddling an outrigger canoe in an international competition, The Liberty Challenge, a fifteen-mile race in the New York City Hudson River. During a 2012 trip to East Germany to receive an intensive radiation treatment for Neuroendocrine Cancer, Roger decided to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a writer. After returning home he attended many writing classes and conferences.
THE FINAL VICTORY is his first novel. He has had articles and short stories published in several local publications as well as The Writers Digest. Married for forty-nine years, Roger is the proud father of three children and grandfather of three grandchildren. His life’s greatest lesson is quoted by THE FINAL VICTORY’s protagonist Tripp Avery, “Forgiveness is the foundation of all miracles.”