A Book Review: The Test of my Life by Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh’s book ‘The Test of My Life’ has been summed up accurately by ‘Master Blaster’ Sachin Tendulkar in two words – ‘Pure Inspiration.’ I can’t think of a better word for this book.

Yuvraj Singh’s ‘The Test of My Life’ takes us through a tumultuous, personal account of Yuvraj’s life as a cricketer and cancer survivor. The best and most interesting part is where Yuvraj talks about his ‘deal with God.’ He told God something on the lines of ‘Take my life but give us the World Cup’ and it almost became true in his life, according to Yuvraj.

ABSOLUTE HONESTY

Throughout the book, you will marvel at Yuvraj’s honesty. It isn’t easy to write so openly about a difficult childhood because of parents who couldn’t get along with each other. It isn’t easy to confess how one’s parent would throw ice cold bucket of water on an early winter morning to wake up the child for ‘cricket practice’ or that a parent could become violent and dangerous if a cricket score wasn’t met. It isn’t easy to reveal how one parent fought with the other saying, “You are going to kill my son!”

An excerpt from the book where young Yuvraj tells his parents to resolve their differences in a calmer way for his sake and his younger brother’s sake:

“I had been trying to patch up things between them because I loved them both dearly. I think they understood the corrosive effect their relationship was having on them and us. They decided to separate and Mom moved out of the house. I think it was the best thing that happened to me till then. It meant my mother could finally live her own life, my dad his own…

“The way they used to fight, it was scary. It is through all of that I learnt internally to keep a lid on my own anger, to control it.”

It takes guts to write like this. Yuvraj Singh has that gutsy bone in him.  And every page of this book proves it.

IGNORING THE EARLY WARNING SIGNS

In Yuvraj’s book, he constantly refers to one important fact – he had ignored the warning signs till it was almost too late to save him. He kept putting off his health check ups, not taking the early signs seriously and not doing anything about it. He was finding it difficult to eat food without throwing up, he had serious breathing difficulties and so on. 

When he coughed badly and later saw blood in the basin, he thought he probably had bronchitis. Cancer never crossed his mind.

Instead Yuvraj Singh continued to think on about the ‘Next game – let it get over’ instead of opting for a comprehensive medical check up.

This is something we are all familiar with because we too do the same. We postpone health check ups till the warning signs are no longer there.

From Cricket to Cancer

Many months of denial finally caught up with Yuvraj – he had to confront the truth and it wasn’t easy for a fitness freak like him. Yet he makes an important point even in the midst of such pain –  every clinic, lab and hospital including their staff kept their promise of absolute confidentiality. He specifically appreciated this in the book with gratitude. I liked that about Yuvraj Singh.

Next where he described the FNAC test, I found myself crying.

“As the needle went into my chest, as it pierced skin, tissue and muscle, it wasn’t a mere syringe at work. It was as if the doctor had pulled out a knife out of a fire and stabbed it right into my heart. I don’t know what the local anesthesia was supposed to do but it couldn’t be this. Surely, it wasn’t supposed to feel like torture or hell or death. In those few minutes, I felt trapped between living and dying…That night, sleep evaded me.”

If you don’t feel the sheer agony and pain that threads his words, you should check this with a cancer patient. They would enlighten you and you can send a prayer of thanks to the Universe that you didn’t have to undergo anything like this.

But I must stop now and resume Yuvraj Singh’s story in Part 2. 

If possible, you should set aside some time to read this book. It's such a heart touching journey into a fine young cricketer's perspective on tackling life's tough challenges, health and healing.

Stay happy, healthy and blessed.

♥♥  I thank you with all my heart for reading my post. I dedicate this post with love and gratitude to all cancer care givers across the world including doctors, nurses, para medical staff and others who help in healing and making the lives of cancer patients bearable and happier through very painful phases. REQUEST: Please SHARE this article on your favorite social networks. Every share, like or tweet makes me reach out to more people who are in various phases of suffering and self-healing in a positive and  affirmative way. I am grateful and I appreciate you for doing so. ♥♥