''Playing with Fire'' is the best selling

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

of former

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) player

Theoren Fleury Theoren Wallace "Theo" Fleury (born June 29, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, author and motivational speaker. Fleury played for the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers, and Chicago Blackhawks of the ...

. Co-written with author Kirstie McLellan Day, Fleury documented how he became a star player,

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

champion and

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gold medalist despite battling drug and alcohol addictions that ultimately ended his NHL career and led him to contemplate suicide. In the book, he made allegations that he was sexually abused by his

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

coach, Graham James, and subsequently filed a complaint with

Winnipeg Police Service The Winnipeg Police Service is the police force of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. History When Winnipeg became a city, in 1873, an election was held to select the city's new mayor and Alderman, aldermen. Those appointed decided to h ...

. Graham James was prosecuted and was sentenced to jail time. ''Playing with Fire'' was a 2010 Libris Award nominee for top non-fiction book of 2010 by the

Canadian Booksellers Association The Canadian Booksellers Association (CBA) is an organization that promotes and advocates for Canadian booksellers, publishers and authors. Its membership is open to bookstore owners and "affiliated stakeholders" like authors and publishers. The org ...

. In the weeks prior to the book's October 16, 2009 release, Fleury attempted to return to the NHL with the team he first played for, the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

, six years after his last NHL game. Some observers praised him as a role model for his attempt, while others criticized it as being a publicity stunt to help generate interest in the book. He appeared in several exhibition games with the Flames, but was released and subsequently chose to retire from hockey. Riding a wave of popularity from his comeback attempt, ''Playing with Fire'' became the top-selling non-fiction book on

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within two weeks of its release. Supported by an extensive promotional tour across Canada, ''Playing with Fire'' sold over 80,000 copies within six weeks of its release.

References

2009 non-fiction books Canadian autobiographies Sports autobiographies HarperCollins books Ice hockey books {{sport-bio-book-stub