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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... getting But Athlete all better that of ended 2002, every he in day. May was A leading 2004, rising when a tennis charmed Blake star fractured life and and People lov- his neck in an on-court freak accident. As he recovered, his father ...
... Getting Better.............................................241 Epilogue...................................................
... 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 my racket for good. I could have pursued a totally different, much more ...
... get run over if you just sit there. —WILL ROGERS For professional tennis players, December is an annual abyss. The year's ... better part of the next eleven months. Success in professional sports is a funny thing. You might say that pro ...
... got is either fleeting or finite—at some point it's going to end, either by choice or because your body will simply ... better than I am? What if I get injured next year and it all comes screeching to a halt? For most players, these are ...
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 |