The Final Victory

A Novel Inspired by True Events

Shattered Bodies
Broken Dreams
The Race to Win Back Hope

In a novel that fuses the riveting action of The Boys in the Boat with the emotional heft of The Fault in Our Stars, twenty men and women with cancer-ridden bodies compete in a grueling race only to discover that real victory is achieved within.
After he is diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer, Tripp Avery feels like all is lost. He finds himself coaching a team of twelve men and eight women with cancer diagnoses of their own, hoping to qualify for the Mixed Masters Dragon Boat national championship and defy their prognoses. If they win, they will represent the United States at the International Dragon Boat races in Hong Kong.

But things soon get complicated, as four of his teammates struggle against their physical limitations and the psychological weight of their conditions. In the summer heat of Chattanooga, their resolve grows thin—along with Tripp’s patience. After a devastating loss to the defending national champions, Tripp can only see the finish line, and he pushes the team even harder. Soon, the team starts to fall apart.

As members of the team collapse under the pressure and one is hospitalized, he must confront his own failings and find a way to move forward. He begins to question his motives, wondering if the win is worth the trauma and what that says about him. Despite the odds, he resolves to rally the team toward a comeback that seems impossible, if only for one final victory. 

Roger Jones, businessman, philanthropist, humanitarian and avid athlete has founded numerous business and community organizations. In 1996, he started Companion Associates, Inc., one of South Carolina’s largest privately held real estate development firms. Companion Associates was distinguished as one of South Carolina’s fastest growing companies by The South Carolina State Chamber of Commerce in 2006.

He has helped establish and launch a number of non-profit organizations including Reading Partners of South Carolina, Charleston Social Venture Partners, and The Charleston Paddle Club.

During a 2012 trip to East Germany to receive a newly developed intensive radiation treatment for Neuroendocrine Cancer, Roger decided to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a writer. The Final Victory is his first novel. He has had articles and short stories published in several local publications as well as The Writers Digest. Married for forty-seven years, Roger is the proud father of three children and grandfather of three grandchildren. His life’s greatest lesson is quoted by The Final Victory’s protagonist Tripp Avery, “Forgiveness is the foundation of every miracle.”