Short Novel Collection
SELF CONTROL
The Strength to Leave Some Things Unsaid
Loogootee, Indiana
An Indiana barber believes he is defending his granddaughter when he explains her troubles on the basketball court. As his version travels, he must face what he did not know and learn to listen before speaking.
Biblical foundation: James 1:19
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Inside the story
The room to finish speaking.
Ellis Vennard is patient with the customers in his Loogootee, Indiana, barber shop. When his granddaughter Nina loses time on the basketball court, his judgments come faster. A remark meant to defend her travels beyond a private ride home, and Ellis discovers how little of the story he understood. With Nina’s trust strained and the season still unfolding, he must learn when to listen, when to speak, and how to correct a claim he has already helped others believe. Self Control is a family story about influence, disappointment, and making room for another person’s voice.
- Reading language
- English
- Inside
- 17,948 words · 65 page PDF
- Digital editions
- Reflowable EPUB and PDF
Family tension, criticism and unfair assumptions surrounding youth basketball.
Word count includes headings and end notes in the complete EPUB; it is not a reading-time estimate.
Self-control · Listening before judgment · Family influence · Privacy and trust · Apology and public correction · Youth sport and disappointment
A story to read together
What does loyalty require when your first explanation of events is wrong?
The story separates learning to listen from becoming silent about real harm, and it refuses to make sporting victory the reward for repairing a relationship.
- Why might someone listen more patiently at work than when a person they love is disappointed?
- What is the difference between defending someone and speaking for them?
After reading: discussion questions with spoilers
- Why does Ellis need to correct the account before the people who heard it, rather than relying on a private apology?
- How can he correct misinformation without repeating Nina’s confidences? Identify the limits he needs to respect.
- The final game is lost. How does that outcome change the meaning of Ellis’s response and the later conversation about Nina’s model?
Scripture and story
Biblical foundation
James 1:19
19 let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger;
The Inspiration Note connects listening and restraint with the responsibility to correct an unfair claim. Self-control does not require silence in the face of harm.
World English Bible (WEB), Classic edition. Public domain.
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