Saturday, October 13, 2012

Synopsis 11: It's not about the bike


'It's not about the bike' is an autobiography of Lance Armstrong which describes his fight with cancer and his victories in Tour de France. This book initially describes Lance's childhood in Plano, Texas and later At Austin, Texas. It describes his upbringing and his love for cycling. It also describes the profound influence that his mother had on his life.

At the age of 24, Lance had everything in his life.... Mediterranean- style home on the banks of Lake Austin, expensive car, sponsorships from some of the reputed companies. And then, he was diagnosed with stage four of cancer. This event changed his life forever. It changed his outlook towards life. He was treated by reputed oncologist Dr. Craig Nichols and Neurosurgeon Dr. Scott Shapiro.  The thing which made all the difference was Lance's 'will' to win back his life and defeat cancer for good. And this is exactly what he did; and he not only defeated cancer but also he returned to cycling arena.
It was the time that he was recovering from cancer that he met his future wife Kristen Richard. After defeating cancer, Lance practiced hard keeping 'Tour de France' in mind. He then went on to win the Tour de France held in 1999 defying all odds. It was the same time he became father. He then went on repeating the success of 1999 in the year 2000 to win the tour again.

This entire book is full of inspiration and looks at life with a different perspective.  It is full of optimism and explains the importance of hard work and strategy to gain anything important in life. It inspires to live life at the fullest and enjoy every moment of life. It gives a message that 'Cancer' is just a bend in the road and not the end of the road actually. I would highly recommend this book.


Book Summary -
·         Title - It's not about the bike My journey back to life
·         Author - Lance Armstrong with Sally Jenkins
·         Publisher - Yellow Jersey Press
·         My Rating - 4/5