Catching the Sky

The legendary Moore brothers were born and raised in the hot flatlands of the Texas panhandle, even if their most iconic achievements would ironically later take place on snow. Colten grew up in the shadow of his charismatic older brother Caleb, the showman two years his senior, whose infectious personality and audacious athleticism charmed everyone who ever met him. As young boys, they pushed one another to ever greater heights, racing ATVs on the local and then national freestyle circuits. Early on, their parents, Wade, a truck driver and Michele, a school librarian, came to accept that their sons’ passion for testing limits and excelling in their chosen sport was non-negotiable. No matter how much they might have fretted about the risks of their sons’ feats, Wade and Michele marshalled their faith—and modest resources—to support their sons unconditionally. In the family’s backyard, Wade even constructed an elaborate foam pit where the boys could practice tricks on their vehicles. Months of trial and error later, Colten and Caleb were winning major competitions, scoring important endorsement deals, and garnering huge followings in countries worldwide. Innovators in their burgeoning sport, they would eventually become the first world-class extreme athletes to freestyle both ATVs and snowmobiles. But as CATCHING THE SKY captures in vivid, page-turning prose, when “The Infamous Moore Brothers” entered the 2013 Winter X Games, their courage was met by tragedy. Although Colten was already a two times X Games medalist, on January 31st, 2013, Caleb Moore became the first athlete in the history of the X Games competition to suffer fatal injuries. He was twenty-five years old. Fans and journalists alike wondered whether Colten would ever ride again. Devastated by his brother’s death as he was, Colten knew that the answer remained clear. In January of this year, he returned to the 2014 Winter X Games determined to ride not only for but with his brother. He maintained that Caleb would be riding alongside him, as he always had. Written from Colten Moore’s powerful first person perspective by critically acclaimed writer, Keith O’Brien, this profound, deeply moving, and richly layered work captures all of the drama, excitement and psychological complexity of the best narrative nonfiction. CATCHING THE SKY is positioned to join the ranks of such classic works as INTO THIN AIR by Jon Krakauer, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS by Buzz Bissinger and BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE by Aron Ralston. It's a transcendent story that speaks to the better part of human nature. It reminds us that we can dream and—through dedication and hard work—sometimes even achieve the impossible; that we can face down our fears and push through pain and loss; and that, in the end, it is our faith and dedication to those we love and to what we believe in that allows for life’s most rewarding moments.