“By custom and temperament, my father wouldn’t show much affection for his children, in order to set an example of respect, but my mother always cradled and hugged me, and told me I was the one she loved with all her heart.’’
This unconditional acceptance from a woman . . .
“It was the best feeling there was.’’
She died.
“If I’m angry with someone, I’ll say, ‘he’ll let you down if he has to die to do it.’ And if I’m talking about a close friend, I’ll say, ‘he’d have to die before he’d let you down.’
Jokes?
“I must have known all along that I was talking about my mother, and it was to painful to admit it. To do so, I would have to admit that I was being selfish in feeling that she died for no other reason than to abandon me.’’
Keen insight. Painfully honest. Years of introspection . . .
“I had to see I still blamed her, and that my anger had poisoned my feelings toward all women. Every time I started getting closer to someone, I’d pull back and protect myself. I had never really let her die. It was one of those longstanding Russell grudges, and it was one that hurt me and a lot of people around me.’’
This excerpt illustrates why this work interesting. Painfully honest. Psychological insight. Revealing human life that touches the heart.
Another . . .
“Rarely will you see an athlete who hasn’t put on then or fifteen pounds over a full career, but even rarer are the ones who don’t put on the same amount of mental fat.’’
( . . . mental fat . . . )
“That’s the biggest killer of aging champions, because it works on your concentration and mental toughness, which are the margin of victory; it prevents you from using your mind to compensate for your diminishing physical skills.’’
Wow!
1 Family heroes
2 Magic
3 Sports
4 Champions
5 Starting points
6 Freedom
7 Women and blues
8 Second wind
Chapter on ‘Freedom’ . . .
“I’ve noticed how often people are irritated when somebody else practices freedom. It upsets them, and they fall all over themselves to stop someone from doing what they don’t like. They try intimidation, and if that doesn’t work they’ll use rules, laws and even guns. I have seen this happen in sports all my life.’’
Bill Walton condemned for complaining about Hoover . . .
“That’s saying that Walton’s freedom to speak his mind has been bought, which is nothing more than high priced slavery. Intimidation come from every direction. When your young and poor, you’re counseled to lay low because you can’t afford to offend anybody; when you’re successful, you should ignore what offends you because you’ll seem ungrateful.’’
Well . . . experience tells . . .
Russell’s life is not typical. Obviously.
Nevertheless, the problems he finds, the fight to conquer them, the heartache, the exhilaration, and his open presentation — make this work special!
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