WHAT THE FLOOR TOOK
Cheerleading, Power, and the Cost of Being Seen
Cheerleading has always asked for more than people see.
What began as a single voice on a sideline evolved into one of the most physically demanding—and least protected—sports in the world. Today’s cheerleaders train year-round, perform at elite levels, and compete on global stages. They absorb risk, scrutiny, and pressure long after the music stops.
What the Floor Took is a narrative examination of how cheer became what it is—and what that transformation has cost. Drawing on history, law, culture, and firsthand voices from inside the sport, the book traces cheer’s evolution from its earliest days to modern Worlds competition. It explores power shifts, commercialization, All Star escalation, Title IX battles, injury, burnout, and the permanent visibility created by social media.
At its center are the athletes: mostly young, mostly women, navigating a system that demands perfection while offering uneven protection.
This is not a celebration.
It is not a takedown.
It is a reckoning with a sport that has proven its legitimacy—but not yet decided how it will care for the people who give it everything.
Hold all cards
A Portrait of Bingo and Belonging in America
HOLD ALL CARDS is a story about loneliness, laughter, and what happens when people decide to stop going it alone.
Set inside the hum, hope, and holy chaos of American bingo halls, this book isn’t really about the game—it’s about the people who keep showing up. The widows and veterans. The night-shift workers and retirees. The lonely, the loud, the hurting, and the hopeful. People who come for the cards, stay for the connection, and slowly realize they’ve found something more.
With humor, grit, and deep compassion, HOLD ALL CARDS explores how community forms in the most unlikely places—not through perfection or shared opinions, but through presence. Through laughter that breaks the tension, frustration that tests patience, and quiet moments that remind us we’re not invisible.
This is a book for anyone who has ever wanted to belong. For those who’ve felt on the outside looking in. For people who are tired of doing life alone and brave enough to sit down anyway.
Pull up a chair. Hold all cards. Let’s do life together.
