Alison Lyn Miller with John T. Edge for Rough House

Overview

Not just for wrestling fans, Rough House is a ringside seat to a coming-of-age story that reveals the escapism, self-actualization, performance, and violence inherent in one of America’s most dismissed pastimes.

Join us in welcoming journalist Alison Lyn Miller in conversation with author John T. Edge for Rough House, an immersive, unforgettable account of a young man as he enters the bruising world of indie wrestling.

About the book

“Truly, this is a book that belongs on the shelves of not just wrestling fans, but anyone who wants to understand the agonized American soul.” —Josephine Riesman, author of Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America

Professional wrestling is both a cultural phenomenon and a multibillion-dollar industry that has launched some of the biggest names in entertainment. But what does it take for a wrestler to break through? In Rough House, journalist Alison Lyn Miller introduces Hunter James, an aspiring star born into a family of wrestlers in Georgia. Hunter lifts, runs, and pounds protein, sculpting himself into a human action figure with the goal of being signed by a major promotion and finishing what his father started. Miller’s immersive, unforgettable account shows us what happens when Hunter enters the bruising world of indie wrestling—where gymnasiums become arenas, trampolines serve as training grounds, and young men fight for glory.

Rich with drama, humor, and heart, Rough House is a ringside seat to a coming-of-age story that reveals the escapism, self-actualization, performance, and violence inherent in one of America’s most dismissed pastimes. Whether you’re a die-hard fan or new to the spectacle, this true story will leave you cheering for more.

About the author

Alison Lyn Miller has reported and written about independent professional wrestlers around her home state of Georgia and published related pieces in Sports Illustrated and Gravy. She has also written for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Washington Post, and Garden & Gun, among other publications. She lives in Athens, Georgia.

About the conversation partner

John T. Edge writes and hosts the Emmy Award-winning television show TrueSouth on the SEC Network, ESPN, Disney, and Hulu. Edge also writes a restaurant column for Garden & Gun. His 2017 book The Potlikker Papers: A Food History of the Modern South was named one of the best books of the year by NPR and Publishers Weekly. Edge serves the University of Mississippi as a teacher, writer-in-residence, and director of the Mississippi Lab. And he serves the University of Georgia as a mentor in their low-residency MFA program in narrative nonfiction. He lives in Oxford, Mississippi, with his wife, the artist Blair Hobbs.