This year, I read a lot of Fiction thrillers; James Patterson’s Michael Bennett and Women’s Murder Club books and John Sandford’s Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers books. It’s not that I didn’t like them, I did and that is why I devoured them. I just couldn’t come to grips and mark any of them as my favorites (well, maybe the first book in each series as that introduces them).
So, I went through all of the other books I read this year on Goodreads, and came up with these two. It’s interesting that they both involve strong people who overcame something.
Wonder Girl: The Magnificent Sporting Life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias – by Don Van Natta Jr.
I knew a little bit about Babe and read a little bit about her in a book called Shattering the Glass: The Remarkable History of Women’s Basketball by Susan Shackleford and Pamela Grundy, but I wanted to know more, and this book didn’t disappoint me at all.
From her high school basketball team as a Senior in 1930, she was recruited by the Golden Cyclones, a women’s basketball team from the Employers Casualty Insurance Company. During that time, that is how a lot of teams were formed, from companies. Boy, good choice as she helped them win the 1931 AAU women’s basketball championship. How is that for some good PR for the company.
I was amazed at her athleticism and everything she accomplished as a basketball player, a track and field Olympian, and a golfer. Golf was by far her most successful. She was one of the founding members of the LPGA. How she got started in those sports is mentioned.
No matter what she did sport wise, she was the best at it. A of people (mostly men) didn’t like that she was a woman who was athletic and a winner. They probably felt jealous that she was better than them. She even competed with and against men (actors and athletes), and most times defeated them. Because of her success as a female athlete, she was hired as a “vaudeville performer” where she played her harmonica and showcased her athleticism. From the book, you can tell she always expected to win and used her mouth to intimidate her competition.
Her tale of growing up, her family, her life and marriage to George Zaharias, her colon cancer, and her death was discussed prominently. Unlike some people who kept “bad” health news to themselves, she was public from the start and advised the world to donate to cancer research and she also visited sick cancer patients while she was also sick. She even won a few golf tournaments after she had her surgery.
The only that thing that beat her was her cancer, and that really sucks because she could’ve accomplished a lot more. But, in her short time as a female athlete, she accomplished a lot. I am very glad I read this book as I really enjoyed it.
My Next Breath: A Memoir – by Jeremy Renner
I don’t typically read memoirs like this, but I was drawn to Jeremy Renner’s story after hearing about his devastating accident on New Year’s Day 2023. This book is his raw and deeply personal account of that day and the long, painful road to recovery that followed. Renner doesn’t shy away from the trauma.
What struck me most was the vivid retelling of the accident itself. Surrounded by family and friends at his Lake Tahoe home, Renner was critically injured by a snowcat. His nephew and neighbors stepped in immediately, doing everything they could (keeping him warm, steady, and doing the best they could under extreme circumstances to stop the bleeding). It’s hard to read those moments without feeling the weight of fear and helplessness. Renner’s deep love for his family and friends helped him persevere.
Some parts of the book didn’t hold my attention, and I skimmed through those sections. The quiet glimpses into his childhood added a layer to the story, as if foreshadowing the strength he would later need.
It’s a quick read, but one filled with pain, hope, and quiet resilience. If you’re drawn to stories of survival and the emotional toll of recovery, this one lingers.
