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 1-5 of 11
... wasn't the beer. I hadn't even had a beer. It was the zoster, a virus that grabbed me back in July and hadn't let go. A vicious illness, zoster had paralyzed the left side of my face, distorted my sense of taste and hearing, and robbed ...
... wasn't always easy. One night, early in their courtship, they were dining at a restaurant and my father caught another man staring at them. “I have nice teeth, too,” my father said, grinning broadly at the guy. It was a private joke ...
... wasn't the ATP that Thomas dreamed of; it was Harvard University, a goal he attained and which subsequently influenced me. In 1997, when I headed to Cambridge, I had every intention of returning for the next three Septembers and smiling ...
... 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 Pat Rafter in a Masters Series event in Cincinnati during ...
... wasn't even admitting to myself: I didn't really believe that I belonged out there with the best players in the world. I didn't feel like I deserved to win. But when you get that close to taking a set from a top player, then lose, your ...
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 |