The Test of My Life by Yuvraj Singh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The author Yuvraj Singh is one of the most sought after cricketing star amongst the Indian youth. He is one player on whom the entire country relies upon when it comes to winning shots and saving the game from critical situations in International Cricket.
When his career was at its peak, this young player was one day diagnosed with a rare type of cancer called ‘Seminoma” consisting of a tumor in between his lungs and heart. That was the day from which he fought with this fatal disease and came out victorious after a year to be back again on the cricket field, playing for his country.
This book, which he wrote, surely brings out tears, particularly at the time when going through his tough times of chemotherapy at Indianapolis in USA. The side-effects and the pain caused while the battle between the medicine and the cancerous outgrowth is taking place inside the patient’s body, is quite excruciating. He could successfully bring in all his emotions with respect to how he was able to cope with the deadly pain….all because of his strong will and determination to go back to India and play his game, as before.
The best part of his life is that he set up a charity organization for cancer patients, named “YOUWECAN” to help detect cancer in people living in places where there are no proper hospitals and medical facilities. Very few celebrities go to that extent of helping the poor in fighting out the deadly disease, which, he could conquer and survive.

Pros: The author’s narration about his disease and the way he neglected it is a strong lesson to many who neglect their illness and avoid seeing a doctor, when something is really wrong with their bodies. His extremely strong will power to survive and play cricket again is the trait that every cancer affected patient should adopt in order to win over this deadly disease. The author’s concern for those who cannot afford the kind of facilities and financial power that he was bestowed upon is quite commendable. Finally, his encouraging words about the sanctity in social acceptance of cancer patients is to be well received and thanked.
I would definitely recommend this book to all those patients who are undergoing the painful Chemotherapy, to get that additional confidence to live on….

Cons: Having lost my brother to Seminoma twelve years ago, I still feel that cure for this disease is only for the rich and famous. Cancer deaths are just not the death of a person but a death of the entire family dependent on him. Many die because they cannot afford the kind of treatment Yuvraj could get. Many do not have access to basic pain killers even. Wonder when the real affordable generic medicine for all kinds of cancer would roll out to save lakhs of cancer-affected lives of the poorer world. There was no mention of his famous girl friend and where she was during his bad days.
The book is definitely not for those countries which do not play cricket. The actual interesting part of the book, as per me, is only from the middle, when the author actually starts describing his treatment and the aftermath. Prior to that, it was little boring!

My favorite quote in the book:

“Play the tournament for someone you love or respect or for someone who is special and has played a huge role in your life, Play it for someone you think you owe something to.”

My rating is 4 out of 5


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