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
Results 1-3 of 3
... frustration during the fall of 2003, my lone tournament win wasn't the only thing that was haunting me. Constantly, I found myself revisiting two encouraging losses going all the way back to 2001. One occurred when I played Australian ...
... twenty-four to my twenty-five. In other words, on paper, I was just as likely to win the match as he was. What made that match even more frustrating was that I had won the first set, but after he won the 18 BREAKING BACK.
... frustration on my sleeve, shaking my head and moping around the court. To many observers, this was evidence that I had a tendency to give up on a match that wasn't going my way, an appraisal that annoyed me because, if anything, I ...
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 |