At eighteen, Juan is certain he knows what life should be: college, a good job, money, and the accompanying status that he sees as a marker of success. Then he meets John, a thoughtful older man, at a St. Louis tennis court whose quiet lessons over the course of the summer challenge everything Juan believes about ambition, purpose, and what it means to live well.

Decades later, Juan busily chases the life he once imagined—yet loneliness, regret, and loss leave him questioning the scorecard he spent his life filling out.

As memories of that long-ago summer return, Juan must confront the choices that shaped him and rediscover the wisdom John offered from the beginning: meaning is not found in what we accumulate and accomplish, but in the moments we choose to truly inhabit, and that as it is in tennis, so it is in life.

“In Juan and John, Brian Till offers us an emotional adventure into ambitions, aspirations, and life’s fleeting, yet precious moments. Written with heart and soul!” –Sonja Koch, author of Bookends of Life