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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... keeping me from being sucked down into the darkness that sometimes overshadows the joy of living. My parents' optimism also carried over into tennis, a sport they both loved. They were excellent club players, and when we were teenagers ...
... keep in the back of my mind, and in the end, the temptation was too great. Despite my desire to earn a Harvard degree, I decided that the opportunity to play professional tennis was irresistible. When I first left college, as much as ...
... keep playing matches like that and you're going to win. A lot.” All that promise. All that encouragement. All those believers. And yet, as I took stock of 2003, there was no escaping the fact that I hadn't passed many road signs to ...
... keep my game and fitness level up, I trained at the Saddlebrook Tennis Center, working out six days a week with the conditioning guys and practicing just as often with other touring pros who live nearby, like my old college competitor ...
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 |