After you finish writing a book, the publisher asks you to send manuscripts off to writers you know, hoping that some of them might say good things that can be put on the covers and in sales materials. Here’s what some writers said:
“You don’t need to care about bicycle racing to find yourself captivated by this book. The real drama here is not so much a man’s quest to win bicycle racing points but to outrun the buried demons of child abuse before they consume him and those who love him. Strickland knows how to tell a tale, and the story sings along like a racer on the way to the finish line.”
—John Grogan, author of Marley and Me
“When Bill Strickland writes about cycling, he takes you on one of the most intense, most unforgettable rides of your life.”
—Lance Armstrong
“Note to bookstore staff: Do not shelve under Sports. Put this book next to Mary Karr or Dorothy Allison. Put it on the shelf marked: Wrenching, Unflinching, Utterly Compelling Memoir Written in Shining Prose and Jewel-like Detail (That Happens to Include Some Nice Bicycles).”
—Mary Roach, author of Stiff and Bonk
“As this memoir begins, the reader might feel he’s chanced upon a charming, elegantly written sports book, certainly payoff enough. But soon there’s a sense of something lurking, and ultimately the reader’s reward is much richer. Who Bill Strickland is — more importantly, who he was — lends his quest a consequence beyond measure. Written with great style, wit and candor, this is, by turns, a fun or funny, dramatic or daring book. Above all, it is a triumphant book.”
—Robert Sullivan, author of Our Red Sox
“Brace yourself. Bill Strickland’s meticulously-written memoir travels very dark territory — scenes that will wake you from a dead sleep. Strickland’s horrific father is no kind of role model for anyone who strives to be that most human of parents: a family man. Strickland achieves this in the end, but he has to do it the hard way, working his way through a punishing cycling obsession and memories he’d rather not disclose, all the way to an inspirational ending. It took balls to write this story; it took discipline and elegance to write it so well.”
—Robin Chotzinoff, author of Holy Unexpected
“In Ten Points Bill Strickland takes you farther into the bodies, the heads and hearts of serious cyclists than you’ve ever been before, where you hear the click of gears, the arrow of pain in your legs. But he does something far more important. You learn about nightmare encounters with fathers and drugs, the tenderness of fatherhood, and why in the end, the devil drives. A stunning debut.”
—Paul Cody, author of So Far Gone
“Sports can teach a lot of lessons, and so can parenting, and Bill Strickland has been paying careful attention. If you’re a father or an athlete or both, this is a book you need to read; it’s not always easy, but every page is powerful and rewarding.”
—Bill McKibben, author of Long Distance: A Year of Living Strenuously
“Honest . . . brutally honest, and beautifully written, Bill Strickland’s Ten Points is a mesmerizing, one of a kind read. If you were moved by Lance Armstrong’s It’s Not about the Bike, you’ll find in these brave pages something equally powerful: a quest not for yellow jersey greatness, but simple goodness. Strickland’s race is no less odds against, and certainly no less dramatic. Every Thursday night he’s hurtling forward at 35 mph, elbow to elbow, bike to bike, furiously racing to save his young family and to find, in the pain and fury, a bit of grace he might just pass on. This is an incredible story.”
—Todd Balf, author of The Last River and Major
“Bill Strickland’s Ten Points is to cycling what The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is to running: a story of grit and determination that transcends mere sport and in the process exorcises the demons of the past and finds redemption in the simple act of going forward in life. Read Ten Points first for the inspiration. Read it again for the music of its language and for its heartbreakingly honest portrayal of human beings struggling to do the best they can. Strickland has written an unforgettable book here, one that discovers joy at the end of agony and that helps us understand the ticking of our imperfect hearts.”
—Mike Magnuson, author of Heft on Wheels
