Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My LifeHarper Collins, 2009 M03 17 - 288 pages James Blake's life was getting better every day. A rising tennis star and People magazine's Sexiest Male Athlete of 2002, he was leading a charmed life and loving every minute of it. But all that ended in May 2004, when Blake fractured his neck in an on-court freak accident. As he recovered, his father—who had been the inspiration for his tennis career—lost his battle with stomach cancer. Shortly after his father's death, Blake was dealt a third blow when he contracted zoster, a rare virus that paralyzed half of his face and threatened to end his already jeopardized career. In Breaking Back, Blake provides a remarkable account of how he came back from this terrible heartbreak and self-doubt to become one of the top tennis players in the world. A story of strength, passion, courage, and the unbreakable bonds between a father and son, Breaking Back is a celebration of one extraordinary athlete's indomitable spirit and his inspiring ability to find hope in the bleakest of times. |
From inside the book
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... career—lost his battle with stomach cancer. Shortly after his father's death, Blake was dealt a third blow when he contracted zoster, a rare virus that paralyzed half of his face and threatened to end his already jeopardized career. In ...
... career on hold to spend the rest of the year recuperating. The only catch was that the doctors told me that it could take years to recover, and so the question of whether or not I would ever play again continuously lingered in the air ...
... career were largely in the hands of fate, despite all the efforts I was making to get better. Things could have gone either way for me then: I could have gotten back to my pro-tennis career in a matter of months, or I could have hung up ...
... career. After struggling for my first two years, by the end of 2001, I had become the seventy-third-best tennis player in the world according to the computer rankings, and by the end of 2002, I had worked my way up to number twentyeight ...
... career. I began to think about shaving my head. This would be a big decision for any twenty-three-yearold, but in my case it was especially significant because a lot of fans knew me for my hair. I was a very recognizable presence on the ...
Contents
1 | |
7 | |
It Could Be Worse | 35 |
Requiem for a Superman | 63 |
Five Minutes of Hitting | 115 |
Plan B | 147 |
If You Can Win One Set | 175 |
You Can Win Two 175 7 Fire It Up One Time Bam 203 8 Getting Better 241 Epilogue 257 Glossary | 265 |