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