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Books > Biography > Sport
In her funny, poignant and absorbing memoir, 'Mad Lizzie' Webb
charts her phenomenal rise from a drama and dance teacher to being
crowned the beloved fitness queen of breakfast television.
Throughout the late eighties and nineties, Lizzie Webb inspired a
nation of couch potatoes to get up and move as TV-am's fitness
guru. The music featured in her routines shot to the top of the
charts, resulting in hits for the likes of Take That, Sonia and
George Harrison. She also collaborated with Simon Cowell for
several years. Meanwhile, outside her television work Lizzie has
been committed to working with young people, creating life-changing
opportunities with exercise, dance and drama that have helped
transform the lives of vulnerable children, juvenile offenders and
former prisoners. Filled with heartfelt stories of the wonderful
people she has helped along the way, as well as fond reminiscences
and hilarious stories from her time on breakfast TV, Mad About the
Boys reveals the fascinating two sides to Lizzie's extraordinary
and inspiring life.
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Off Balance
(Paperback)
Dominique Moceanu; As told to Teri Williams
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R455
R428
Discovery Miles 4 280
Save R27 (6%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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In this searing and riveting "New York Times" bestseller, Olympic
gold medalist Dominique Moceanu reveals the dark underbelly of
Olympic gymnastics, the true price of success...and the shocking
secret about her past and her family that she only learned years
later.
At fourteen years old, Dominique Moceanu was the youngest member of
the 1996 US Women's Olympic Gymnastics team, the first and only
American women's team to take gold at the Olympics. Her pixyish
appearance and ferocious competitive drive quickly earned her the
status of media darling. But behind the fame, the flawless floor
routines, and the million-dollar smile, her life was a series of
challenges and hardships.
"Off Balance "vividly delineates each of the dominating characters
who contributed to Moceanu's rise to the top, from her stubborn
father and long-suffering mother to her mercurial coach, Bela
Karolyi. Here, Moceanu finally shares the haunting stories of
competition, her years of hiding injuries and pain out of fear of
retribution from her coaches, and how she hit rock bottom after a
public battle with her parents.
But medals, murder plots, drugs, and daring escapes aside (all of
which figure into Moceanu's incredible journey), the most unique
aspect of her life is the family secret that Moceanu discovers,
opening a new and unexpected chapter in her adult life. A
mysterious letter from a stranger reveals that she has a second
sister--born with a physical disability and given away at
birth--who has nonetheless followed in Moceanu's footsteps in an
astonishing way.
A multilayered memoir that transcends the world of sports, "Off
Balance "will touch anyone who has ever dared to dream of a better
life.
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Tissues
(Hardcover)
Daniel D Servant Mendes
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R1,143
Discovery Miles 11 430
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'Every time I speak to someone and hear about their experiences, it
leaves me with a sense of running's incredible power to help people
overcome pretty much anything.' Each day, millions of people around
the world put on their trainers and try to deal with their personal
demons and life challenges by going for a run. And, increasingly,
they do it knowing that they are not alone: a growing and often
virtual community is right there running alongside them. We are
all, in some sense, running for our lives. Rachel Ann Cullen's
first book, Running for My Life, described her own marathon journey
through depression, bipolar disorder and body dysmorphia, and her
revelatory discovery that running could transform her physical and
mental wellbeing. After hearing from people who had read about her
experiences, Rachel wanted to tell some stories of other runners
from all around the world - ordinary people living with mental
health struggles, grief, cancer and other unavoidable life events
who have relied on running to get them through their worst days and
to keep going. Running for Our Lives shares moving accounts of hope
and resilience; it demonstrates the power of running to help us all
overcome adversity, and is a lesson for us all in learning not only
how to survive life's challenges, but to thrive.
'You will laugh, and you will cry.' The extraordinary,
life-affirming autobiography of rugby legend DODDIE WEIR. There has
never been anyone quite like Doddie Weir. A giant of the game and a
rugby icon, his unique story is charged with a passion for living
life to the full. In a rugby career which had huge highs and
shocking lows, Doddie faced some of the game's greatest players,
from Jonny Wilkinson to Jonah Lomu, Brian O'Driscoll to Scott
Quinnell and Martin Johnson to Joost van der Westhuizen, and set
stadiums alight when 'on the charge like a mad giraffe'. Now, at
the age of 48, Doddie faces an entirely different adversary: Motor
Neurone Disease. But Doddie Weir has never been one to shy away
from a challenge, on or off the pitch, and he has faced up to MND
with undaunted positivity, using his boundless energy to raise
funds for MND research and support.
From the moment a hopelessly bored eleven year old boy watched
Gower effortlessly pull his first ball in Test cricket for four, he
instantly forgot the fact that West Ham were crap and had just been
relegated and his life long love affair with cricket had begun.
These are the recollections of how being pretty good at bowling a
hard red ball at three tall sticks in the ground has allowed Stuart
Simmonds the chance to travel the cricketing world, play against
some seriously good players, meet some very famous people and most
importantly avoid having to ever get what can only be described as
a normal, sensible job. Written with huge amounts of charm, Stuart
takes us on a journey around club grounds, county grounds, test
grounds and an enormous amount of time coaching in playgrounds, all
spent together with what seems like an awful lot of very
entertaining people. Any profits from this book will be distributed
between local charities. There are plenty of superstar
autobiographies that tell you what its like to receive a standing
ovation when you walk back through the pavilion at Lords, the Oval
or the MCG having scored a brilliant hundred or a match winning
bowling spell and of the boys on tour celebrations afterwards. This
sadly, is not going to be one of those books. This is the tale of
someone living their sporting life in the surreal world between so
called professional excellence and the so called charm of the
village green. There without the slightest hint of glamour, with
all the frustrations and the occasional triumphs of the top flight
club circuit in Sussex and its regular visits to the seaside. There
are also the recollections of the seasons spent playing and
coaching overseas, trying to see if you really were any good after
all. Told with intelligence, humour and above all honesty, these
are the memoirs of someone trying to make ends meet doing the
things they love for a living, whilst occasionally bumping into
somebody famous along the way.
FROM THE WINNINGEST COACH IN NCAA DIVISION I HISTORY, A GUIDE TO
PRACTICING PERFECT AND PLAYING FOR FUN
While the statistics speak for themselves, Augie Garrido, the
legendary baseball coach, is far from a "win-at-all-costs" leader.
Rather, he focuses on building men of quality, teaching that
lessons learned on the diamond can be applied to any facet of life.
"Life Is Yours to Win "offers a refreshing approach to seizing
life's opportunities and understanding that trophies are not the
true goal. Garrido's advice includes:
- BE A PLAYER, NOT A PROSPECT--Garrido once used a game of catch
with his Labrador retriever to show a team playing without heart
the character it takes to be fully engaged as a ballplayer.
- STEP UP, SUPERMAN--Garrido stages a costumed Superhero Scrimmage
each Halloween to remind his players that their inner superhero is
just waiting to be realized.
- THE FEARLESS FIELD--Master fear and other emotions so that they
don't paralyze you. Renting a hearse and placing a casket on the
pitcher's mound helped a slumping Cal State team "bury" their fears
and put past losses behind them.
- BUDDHA AT BAT--Small ball is not glorified like the home run, but
the bunt does advance the runners and puts runs on the board. Small
successes add up to big victories on and off the field.
Garrido's coaching methods are often unconventional, but as seen in
"Life Is Yours to Win, "his creativity and wry humor always lead to
unforgettable lessons.
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