Booked for the summer: UK alumni couple champions summer reading with gift of Givens’ memoir to Lexington students

The article below is featured in the Summer 2025 edition of Kentucky Alumni magazine.

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 7, 2025) — It’s summertime, and the living is easy — a time for travel, poolside lounging or kicking back in an outdoor salon, just like the one Andrew and Peggy Henderson are enjoying on a golden June afternoon, serenaded by the relentlessly cacophonous soundtrack of cicadas. It’s also the perfect season to lose oneself between the covers of a great book.  

Thanks to the Hendersons’ generosity, a Lexington middle school is ready for summer reading — each student with an inspirational memoir to call their own.  

Last year, 1976 University of Kentucky College of Medicine graduate and West Virginia native Andrew “Andy” Henderson III, M.D., a retired internist, avid reader and ravenous basketball fan, received as a Father’s Day gift a copy of “They Call Me Goose: My Life in Kentucky Basketball and Beyond” by 1978 College of Arts and Sciences graduate Jack “Goose” Givens. Enchanted by the book’s themes of positivity and perseverance, Andy suggested that his bride of 50 years, Peggy, a 1974 College of Arts and Sciences graduate and ’86 College of Education graduate, might enjoy it as well. 

A year later Peggy, a former elementary school principal in Fayette County, recalled the impact reading the memoir, published in 2024 by University Press of Kentucky, had on her after she turned the final page. Even though she and her husband “read hundreds of books a year,” she couldn’t get Givens’ story out of her mind. 

Peggy, who majored in English before returning years later for her graduate degree in education, was especially impressed by Givens’ storytelling and sense of local history. A fan of historical fiction, she remembered falling in love with reading as a child. 

“Our little library in my little school had a section right in the corner. Everything was bound in orange,” Peggy said. “They were all biographies of famous people. And I read every one of those probably two or three times because I learned I could put myself in the place of Jane Addams or George Washington — whomever I was reading about — and learn things about them. To me, that was more exciting than anything on television.” 

More than a paean to Givens’ storied UK basketball team — which he led to the 1978 national championship — the book delves into more personal topics like his humble upbringing in Lexington’s segregated, barbed-wire enforced Bluegrass-Aspendale housing project, the intense scrutiny of public life and the crushing weight of debt. 

These personal revelations struck a chord with the Hendersons. 

“The way he handles adversity in his life is very positive,” Peggy said. “He’s very faith oriented. He’s very family oriented, and he brings all that to say to the reader, ‘I went through all this, but I kept my positivity. I kept my faith and I developed a plan to succeed.’ So, it was really, really good to read that book. At the end, he sums everything up and says, ‘You know, if you want to be successful, you need to be positive, to stay true to yourself. You can do it!’” 

Similarly, Andy, the former CEO of Lexington Clinic said the book was right up his alley. 

“I like nonfiction, particularly stories of people — people who met challenges and, through some… whatever it was — miracles, intervention, something — overcame those challenges and survived,” he said. 

Last summer’s read blossomed into a yearlong effort to encourage young people to set aside their electronic gadgets and discover the joy of a story they could connect with and be inspired by. When Peggy pitched the idea, her husband didn’t hesitate: “Let’s make it happen!” 

The Hendersons, who met and fell in love at UK, spoke with the author to get his thoughts on the plan. 

“I think we’ve been to every book signing the UK Alumni Association has hosted — because we go to every basketball game,” Peggy said. 

The Louisville-native gestured toward Andy and quipped, “I’ve always said this one would trade anybody for a ticket to the right game.”  

“We were in Atlanta for the Kentucky-Duke game, and Jack had a book signing,” Peggy continued. “I had already talked to Andy about the idea. He said, ‘Go on, go ask him.’ So, we went together. I told Jack, ‘If I can work it out with Fayette County Public Schools, would you be willing to talk to a group of middle school students? We’ll buy your book so they can take it home and read it.’” 

The Hendersons said Givens was visibly moved — deeply honored by the opportunity to inspire the next generation. 

“I was completely shocked when Peggy approached me with this idea,” said Givens, whose No. 21 jersey was retired and hangs from the rafters in Rupp Arena. “I was already shocked at how many people had read the book and the sales of it — I was extremely excited about that. But when she came with this idea about trying to get the book in the hands of more young people ... I was thrilled at the possibility of doing that.” 

Tapping into her network from years in the Fayette County school system, Peggy began exploring how to get the book into the hands of students. 

Earlier this year, the Hendersons purchased more than 300 paperback copies for Lexington Middle School, formerly Lexington Traditional Magnet School. The choice was no coincidence: Givens attended the same school in the late 1960s. 

“When Peggy and Andy shared with me how they wanted to do it and I realized that the school we were talking about was a school that I had attended, in a neighborhood I grew up in, I just thought, ‘Man, it can’t get any better than this,’” Givens said. 

On May 5, Lexington Middle School students had the rare opportunity to hear directly from the former basketball star and broadcaster. They sat rapt as Givens candidly spoke about his book, his career, his ups and downs and what it meant to return to the gymnasium where his journey began.  

“I was hoping when I wrote it that young people would read the book because some of my experiences are the same experiences many of them will go through, certainly the kids in the neighborhood that this school is located,” Givens said. “They’ll experience a lot of the same things I experienced, so for me to come over and spend the day with the young people and talk to them and give a motivational speech, that was easy — easy for me to do.” 

Each student — and every school staff member — left with an autographed copy of the book. 

“They were spellbound; they just swarmed him like he was a rockstar,” Andy said. “Here’s a guy who wrote a book, who grew up down the street. He was a great basketball player. Now he’s on the radio and TV and so forth. He’s a role model. I think those kinds of stories are great for kids.” 

Several teachers immediately found ways to make reading the book a shared experience. In one reading classroom, students were invited to read pages from the preface and highlight passages that resonated with them or reflected their own lives. One student annotated the margins with notes like “He took chances and didn’t stop” and “My pastor helps people too.” Amid the neon-colored markings and personal reflections, one poignant line stood out — a thread tying the student to the author: “My dad left too.” 

“Very few books make me want to get up and do something,” Peggy said. “But Jack’s did because I’m an educator, and I could see the use of that — or parts of it — in a classroom. I thought it was so good for the students to have something to hang on to. If you teach reading, which I did for many years, you want the child to be able to identify with the text personally.” 

Peggy added that every child needs a small library of their own, “a place to live in.” She hopes their gift will inspire children to move away from screens and flex their reading muscles. 

“It’s like if you would play basketball from September to May, and then you just stop,” Peggy explains. “When you come back in September, you’re going to have a little regression. That’s normal because you didn’t exercise. Reading is the same way; if you don’t read from the end of May until the first of September, you’re going to lose a little of that skill. I think it’s critical to keep our kids reading in the summertime.” 

What the Hendersons hope will linger — long after the book’s spine is bent and the story tucked away — is the quiet certainty that dreams can be chased and caught.  

“I hope they remember Jack’s message that you can do anything if you put your mind to it,” Peggy said. “Surround yourself with positive people. Keep working hard. Don’t let people tear you down. Set a goal and strive to meet that goal.” 

With Lexington Middle School students diving into their summer reading, the Hendersons are teeing up a few titles of their own. In between travels, Peggy can’t wait to savor every twist in “The First Gentleman,” co-written by former President Bill Clinton and her favorite author, James Patterson. Peggy also holds an equally soft spot for the late Louisville mystery novelist Sue Grafton. 

Andy plans to dig deep into Eric Topol’s “Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity,” exploring the science of how to age well. 

“I count on him to read all that kind of stuff and then just give me a synopsis,” Peggy said, “because I’d rather spend my time reading fiction.” 

She may favor fiction, but as Givens proved, a good story doesn’t have to be made up to be unforgettable.

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The UK Alumni Association is planning additional book signings with Givens. Check out the event calendar at https://www.ukalumni.net/s/events to see where the “Goose” will land next.