Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My LifeHarper Collins, 2007 M07 5 - 288 pages In 2004, James Blake's life was getting more perfect by the day. A rising tennis star, with each passing year his game seemed to improve. In 2002, he was named Sexiest Male Athlete by People, and along the way he continued to gain in the rankings and earn respect on the court. Each day seemed to offer a new milestone, a new achievement; he was leading a charmed life and loving every minute of the ride. But that life came to an abrupt halt in May 2004 when Blake broke his back in a freak accident on the court. A few months later, as Blake was recovering from his injury, he suffered another tremendous setback when his father–the man who had raised him and provided the inspiration for his tennis career–lost his battle with stomach cancer. Shortly after his father's death, Blake's situation was further complicated when he contracted Zoster, a rare virus that paralyzed half of his face and threatened to end his already jeopardized tennis career. Breaking Back tells the story of the tumultous year that followed these three devastating events, detailing how Blake persevered through hardship to become one of the best tennis players in the world. Here Blake explains how the wisdom and words that his father imparted to him over the years gave him the ability to succeed in the face of these seemingly insurmountable odds. Though these trials proved the most difficult of his life, ultimately this trifecta of tragedy became the culmination of all his father's lessons, showing Blake that even in death, his father was still teaching him how to be a man. In the spirit of Lance Armstrong's It's Not About the Bike and Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking comes this remarkable tale of strength and determination from one of tennis's biggest stars. A story of passion, willpower, and the unbreakable bonds between a father and a son, Breaking Back is one athlete's account of finding hope in the bleakest of times. |
From inside the book
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... father and a son, Breaking Back is one athlete's account of grace and dignity that James has shown during finding hope in the bleakest of times. some very difficult times has been a source of great inspiration.” —Andre AgAssI “Ihavehad ...
... father who revered education above everything else and treated it as a lifelong pursuit , not just something to occupy you until age twenty - one . On a daily basis , they demonstrated their commitment to learning by using themselves as ...
... father was black and my mother white , and it wasn't always easy . One night , early in their court- ship , they were dining at a restaurant and my father caught an- other man staring at them . “ I have nice teeth , too , ” my father ...
... father had stayed behind, in part, because he said he had to have a routine hernia operation. But my mother hadn't been able to reach him by phone or e-mail in several days, and she was beginning to think he was actually in the grip of ...
... father and spoke for all of us when she said, “We'll fight this.” My family is tight, and we share an intimacy, but ... father's illness that Christmas. He was holding up astoundingly well and we all wanted to enjoy the time as normally ...
Contents
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 |
Fire It Up One Time Bam | 203 |
Getting Better | 241 |