David's Reviews > It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life

Lance Armstrong was 25 years old and starting to achieve fame and fortune on the world cycling tour, when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He wrote this account in 1999, three years after the initial diagnosis, describing his fight against the disease and the highly improbably comeback that led to his victory in the 1999 Tour de France, cycling's greatest event.

The book describes his youth in Texas - slight of build and not suited for the football that was the passion in his Texas hometown, he turned instead to triathlons as a teenager, and started winning early on. Soon, his whole focus was on cycling.

But that dream appeared to be shattered by the cancer diagnosis. Soon, he was fighting for his life instead of fighting for the lead in a race. Treatments included brain surgery and overwhelming chemotherapy. But he survived, and quickly fought his way back to fitness and international acclaim. He talks much about his relationship to his devoted mother who never gave up on him, and the joy of his marriage and the birth of his first son.

This book will be a personal favorite to me, as a fellow cancer survivor. It drew out memories and emotions that were long forgotten and made me appreciate again the miracles of medical treatment, the blessing of supportive friends and family, and the importance of believing in a dream.