It is not very often that one hears a hero talk about himself candidly; and even less often that he attributes his inspiring life and career to little more than fate, faith and a miracle. Yet, here is an audiobook detailing the amazing life and career of one of cycling's greatest- Lance Armstrong, in which we are told at the outset that what he is today has little to do with his chosen profession and everything to do with a fateful journey called life.

'It's Not About the Bike-My Journey Back to Life' by Lance Armstrong along with Sally Jenkins, is the title of this remarkable audiobook narrated by Oliver Wyman. The narration begins by- 'I'm not here to make polite conversation...I'm here to tell the truth.' The truth- real and hard-hitting, is exactly what is told throughout this book. Truth about Armstrong's struggle with and triumph over testicular cancer at the young age of twenty-five. Truth about how it changed him as a human being. It is these truths which make Armstrong's story the more inspiring to the listener.

We get an in-depth look into the pre- and post-cancer stages of Armstrong's life- childhood, success, cancer, triumph over it, marriage, fatherhood and ultimate victory at the 1999 Tour de France. We get to see how cancer plays a definitive role in changing him as a person. Through it all, we see his fight for survival and zest for life. Nowhere do we find him questioning his illness; he is concerned only with finding out its role in making him the man he is now.

The narrative is extremely candid, vividly described and down-to-earth. Lance Armstrong reasserts his claim about being an ordinary man who survived only because of a miracle. He says that once you learn that people die, all other matters become irrelevant. He asks us to put aside 'ideas of heroes and miracles', and we do just that as we delve deeper and deeper into the narrative. By the end of the book, we realize that Armstrong's story is not about a hero's life, but about a heroic life. Coupled with a humble, down-to-earth and forthright narration, it becomes clear why Lance Armstrong is truly a hero.

This audiobook is excellent in audio as well as narrative quality. Oliver Wyman does a superlative job of giving voice a hero's story. I definitely recommend this book to everyone.