Breaking Back

"Blake serves up the rare sports memoir that actually has a heart. He cries, he mourns, he grows, he triumphs—and we cheer him on the entire way." — People 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. " Breaking Back is about more than tennis and race. That's because Blake, like [Arthur] Ashe, is smarter and deeper than most athletes, and also because in 2004 Blake lived his own year of magical thinking." — The New York Times Book Review "[An] admirably unusual sports memoir." — The Washington Post "The grace and dignity that James has shown during some very difficult times has been a source of great inspiration." — Andre Agassi