The whole world knows how much hockey is a vital part of Canadian culture. The cold winters, old rinks, and frozen ponds are ubiquitous to millions of Canadians and contextual for countless more across the world. Even for those who didn't play ice hockey, the game still became palpable. In "My Road Hockey Obsession," author Curt Solomon tells the story of a group of young friends building their lives, friendships, and adolescence around road hockey.

For Solomon, road hockey was much, much more than a pastime. It was the only pastime. When he started playing road hockey, he knew he had...