Michael lynagh autobiography
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It's the personal tale of a sportsman playing to the extremes of his profession, but also a human tale of surviving debilitating trauma and finding a new meaning to life.
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The day that defined the rest of his life. Since then he has lost vision from his left eye (or more precisely, his eye can see fine, but his brain is unable to process the vision), and has had to confront the idea of his own mortality in ways that were previously completely unknown to him.I enjoyed the book because I like rugby, and Michael Lynagh featured heavily in Australia's 1991 World Cup win, so a lot of the stories really appealed to me.
I love hearing about the lives of top level athletes, and the mental side of their preparation. We all hope it doesn't happen, but for some of us, inevitably, life plays out that way.
On an April day like any other in 2012 Michael Lynagh - retired rugby great - set for a successful career in commercial property and rugby analysis was suddenly forced to re evaluate everything.
'That poor guy's in a bit of trouble,' says Lynagh Snr to his wife. He was just forty-eight years old and a father of three young boys. I also learnt about strokes (there's even a couple of handy pages right at the back about how to identify a stroke, and what action to take -- stuff that I had no idea about before), and how they affect people's lives.
As per most sports related books the writing is passable but not amazing, and you suspect that a lot of the stories which seem a little pedestrian in written form are much more lively when told at the pub or the "after dinner" circuit as he refers to it, but nonetheless they are still entertaining.
Funny aside: my wife and kids don't know who Michael Lynagh is, so the first thing they each (independently) asked me when they say the book was "why is there an egg on the front cover?" (it looks far more like an egg than a rugby ball!)
Autobiography
Former Australian rugby union legend and World Cup winner, now acclaimed television sports pundit, on his glittering career in the game - and how close he came to losing his life.
Few players in the history of the game have had as illustrious a career as Wallaby fly-half and captain Michael Lynagh.
In an era when Australia took the rugby world by storm with their glittering array of mercurial talent, in chief orchestrator and courageous captain Lynagh they had a pivotal figure at fly-half who shaped their style of play and at the same time played a major ambassadorial role in the world game.
Yet fast forward to that April day in 2012, as Lynagh lay partially blinded in intensive care at the Royal Brisbane Hospital, his life hanging by a thread following a major stroke, his wife and three young boys on the other side of the world.
Blindsided
It's the unthinkable - to be blindsided by a life-threatening illness in the prime of life, with no prior warning. For three days, as his brain swelled to the point of catastrophe, his life hung in the balance.
even if you happen to be a Wallaby legend.
Michael Lynagh won 72 Test caps and retired from international rugby in 1995 with a world record 911 points scored - a number that remains an Australian record.
Blindsided
While with friends in Brisbane having a relaxed beer or two, a seemingly fit and healthy Lynagh suffered a stroke and was admitted to the Royal Brisbane Hospital. In the waiting room before seeing his stricken son, Lynagh's father, trained in sports medicine, observes the doctors reviewing a patient's brain scan. Blindsided is a life-affirming memoir about luck, family, mates and rugby; and a timely reminder of how you play the game of life, as much as rugby, matters ...
What followed is an inspiring story of recovery, rehabilitation and remembering. Everything about his life and how he viewed it was about to change. It turns out to be their son's scan that they are witnessing.
Lynagh's story is one of coruscating highs and crippling lows.