The odds for chasing NHL stardom are extremely low, but for former goaltender Curtis Joseph, the chances were severely stacked against him.
The 19-year NHL veteran recently released an autobiography titled "Cujo -- The Untold Story Of My Life On And Off The Ice," that detailed the adversity he faced as an adopted child growing up in a mental institution.
Joseph's adopted mother ran the operation just north of Toronto, and after battling drug addiction, the future St. Louis Blue, Edmonton Oiler, Toronto Maple Leaf, Detroit Red Wing, Arizona Coyote and Calgary Flame was often forced to take care of his himself at a very young age.
"I grew up in a mental institution, a home with 20 mental patients -- a lot of them schizophrenic," Joseph explained in a new video posted to the book's YouTube page.
"My room was in their rooms. They were like a bunch of crazy uncles for me.
"I wasn't loved a lot, per say, with hugs and kisses at all. But I lived a very rich childhood with my imagination.
"I really feel like that's part of my success because some of the things I imagined came true."
Back in October, the now 51-year-old shared a few excerpts from the book about his "weird life" to Neil Davidson of The Canadian Press.
"Two moms, three dads and I grew up in a home full of mentally ill patients run by a crazy person.
"By the time I was 10 years old, I was living on a steady diet of stale cookies, processed cheese slice sandwiches and frozen institutional hamburgers — God knows what they were made of.
"Mom treated her animals better than she treated her kids."
If you'd like to learn from about his upbringing and his illustrious career, you can order Joseph's autobiography on Amazon by clicking this link.
Joseph is currently doing a cross-country book tour, so make sure to check out his website and Twitter page to see if he'll be coming to a city or town near you.
