Publisher: Random House
Year: 2012
ISBN:9788184002980
Rating:
Read book reviews from other readers
“The test of my life is a story in my own words. It is about my toughest days and how I managed to come out of it. It is about hope, determination and courage to face challenges despite all odds. And believe me, we all have the strength to do it. So keep it up and keep your dreams alive and never give up. God Bless.” – Yuvraj Singh.
The book begins with a sincere message from Yuvraj Singh, one of the best T20 players in the Indian History and among the best fielders of the team. We’ve all seen him in his roaring moods, named him the bad boy of Indian cricket and yet he is one of the most loved. This book traverses through his journey, the triumphs and setbacks, first as a cricketer, then as a cancer survivor and again back to being a cricketer. It’s written in simple narrative language, so when you read it, it feels like he is sitting right next to you telling you the story.
In the book, He writes about his Ranji debut, the debut against Australia, his struggle to maintain his form in the Test cricket and India’s World Cup campaign. What he has written describes his and the team’s hunger for the World Cup year after year, love of the crazy fans, even those who didn’t deter to throw stones at his house when he underperformed. He writes how his body was slowly giving into Cancer even during the World Cup and his fitness deteriorating with each passing day. His struggle to play was fuelled by encouragement from his parents, friends and family which finally led to a glorious victory both for him and India.
His success is mirrored into another story of helplessness and loneliness as he struggled to fight cancer. The book describes even his initial denial of cancer’s presence within his body which later turned into an emotional turmoil for him. His sessions through chemotherapy, the time spent in Indianapolis for the treatment with his mother and few friends leave the reader teary eyed and yet, at the end of each phase he survives with the hope for a better future, for a comeback in the cricketing world. The book is a ray of hope for everyone struggling with cancer, it gives strength to face those difficult chemotherapy sessions with the hope of living a normal disease free life and the simply told fact that “this too shall pass”.
It also gives a glimpse at his childhood, his training sessions under his father Yogiraj Singh. It is difficult to even think that the man who has scared half the bowlers in the world was once forced into playing cricket by his very own father whose career did not shape out as he wanted. Yuvi describes how he was forced to practice in the worst of weather and conditions, and how from the forced practice sessions it became a passion of his life as he went on and on with it. The book aptly describes his relationship with his father during the initial stage, his mother’s unwavering support during his struggle against cancer, how he made and parted ways with his friends through the toughest phase of his life and how his fans helped him and encouraged him to fight aggressively, just as he does on-field. It perfectly describes Yuvi’s character and one cannot simply not fall in love with him after reading this book. 🙂
For all Yuvi fans, you’ll respect him even more for what he has gone through and come out so strongly.
For all the criticizers, the book itself answers the criticisms Yuvi faced from the world and especially the media during the troublesome phases in his life.
In all, it is definitely worth a read. I would give it a 4.5/5 for its simplicity and honesty. 🙂
Dhishna Chandnani
Latest posts by Dhishna Chandnani (see all)
- Get over the Wonderland! Time for Alice: The Netherworld! - August 23, 2013
- The Virgins by Siddharth Tripathi - August 7, 2013
- Review: The Test of My Life by Yuvraj Singh - June 17, 2013
No Comments