It's Not About The Bike

I read the first few chapters just before I went to bed. I did not sleep well. I think I had nightmares after a very long time. Something in the book got me. That Lance Armstrong recovered from cancer and went on to win Tour de France is common knowledge. What hit me straight between my eyes was the fact that I never stopped to consider the pain and desperation associated with cancer. To me that was just a piece of news. The book made Lance Armstrong real to me. To read about a world champion cry on hearing that he had cancer can be unnerving.

The autobiography details Lance Armstrong's initial struggle to be recognized in a non-mainstream sport (from an American point of view, that is), his subsequent struggle to win against testicular cancer, his subsequent efforts to get back into normal life as a professional cyclist, and his victory in Tour de France. The chapters on his and his wife's efforts to become parents is particularly poignant.

One simple lesson that comes through loud and clear: fight against cancer, with professional cycling, needs a team to win.

Style: Honest. In your face. Even though you know what happened, you still attack the pages to know what happens next.

Knowledge content: Will surprise you with what you do not know about cancer, IVF and Cycling.

Applicability: If he can do it, so can you. It doesn't have to be just cancer.

Recommendation: Don't know about you, but this is one autobiography I would love to read again and again and again..