When Graeme Dott won the World Snooker Championship in 2006 it should have been the highlight of his career. It was what he had worked for all his life, but Alex Lambie, his mentor and father-in-law, had cancer and only had months to live. Alex died at the end of 2006 and, incredibly, Dott's snooker went from strength to strength. Away from the table, his life was falling
When Graeme Dott won the World Snooker Championship in 2006 it should have been the highlight of his career. It was what he had worked for all his life, but Alex Lambie, his mentor and father-in-law, had cancer and only had months to live. Alex died at the end of 2006 and, incredibly, Dott's snooker went from strength to strength. Away from the table, his life was falling apart. He didn't know it, but he was suffering from severe depression. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, his wife Elaine suffered a cancer scare. She was pregnant at the time and although she was given the all-clear, she lost the baby. Dott was in a bad place and his snooker eventually suffered too and he plunged down the rankings. He eventually faced his demons and, fully recovered, reached the final of the 2010 World Championship. In this inspirational autobiography, Graeme Dott talks for the first time in detail about his depression and about how he has managed to turn his life around. He describes his childhood in one of the toughest parts of Glasgow, tells of his love for Glasgow Rangers and about his snooker career and the part Alex Lambie paled in making his dreams come true. His deep love for Elaine and his children, Lewis and Lucy, emerges in this story of a man who almost lost everything he worked for.
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Hardcover
,
266 pages
Published
June 1st 2011
by John Blake
(first published March 1st 2011)
I am someone who believes that sports people should write books at the end of their careers so their whole achievements can be assessed. I really like Graeme Dott, i think he is the most underrated player on the circuit but this doesn't mean he can write. What made him into the player he was, what are his motivations? What are his practice routines, his inspirations and goals? We don't find out. We have great insight into some of his matches, some of which are covered in great detail and into th
I am someone who believes that sports people should write books at the end of their careers so their whole achievements can be assessed. I really like Graeme Dott, i think he is the most underrated player on the circuit but this doesn't mean he can write. What made him into the player he was, what are his motivations? What are his practice routines, his inspirations and goals? We don't find out. We have great insight into some of his matches, some of which are covered in great detail and into the medical problems of his family and friends and some of the most touching parts of the book are about the death of his friend Alex. Much of the rest of the book Graeme seems very defensive of his skills (needlessly in my view, he is a fine player, maybe not given his dues) at a one point compares himself to a fluent player such as Jimmy White. I have read better.
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