Watching the Game is the stunning memoir of Judy Johnson-English teacher, mother, wife, and lover of the all-American game of baseball. As a preacher’s daughter growing up in New Jersey, Johnson was inspired to love two things, God and the New York Mets. Equally fluent in the language of the game and the poetry of Shakespeare, Johnson’s gorgeous stories bring to life each decade and transition of her existence: trading baseball cards with her best childhood friend, dating while attending an all-girls school, taking a newborn baby to the ballpark, saying goodbye to her son as he joins the military. While time and seasons dance to a rhythm of change, one scene remains the same-men in cleats on a diamond, the reassuring crack of the bat, and a field aglow in stadium lights.