Do Tough: What Race Across America and My Sister's Brain Cancer Taught Me about Endurance and How to Do Hard Things

“A poignant, heartbreaking and powerful story, a chance for each of us to find a way to level up, contribute and do things we never thought possible.” —Seth Godin (Author,The Song of Significance, and delighted Cruzbike rider)When she was nine years old, her gym teacher gave a fitting nickname to a slow and uncoordinated little girl: jelly bean. In this candid and uplifting memoir, ultra athlete Maria Parker chronicles her swanlike transformation from unathletic jelly bean to elite endurance cyclist.Parker also examines the connection between the unchosen suffering of losing her sister and best friend, Jenny, to brain cancer and the chosen suffering of taking on an extreme athletic event. Interspersed with the heart-pumping story of her unlikely win of the 2013 Race Across America (RAAM), the world's toughest bicycle race, the reader will find:Details of the founding of Cruzbike, the world's top recumbent bicycle companyRoad-tested insights on habit-formation, team-building, leadership, and visualizationFull-color photos throughout, featuring Parker's family and friends as well as key moments from RAAMWhat setsDo Toughapart is the way Parker intertwines the themes of hope, resilience, and perseverance with the story of Jenny's illness and the epic race. The result is a book that is both encouraging and resonant, offering readers a message of hope and a roadmap for dealing with the challenges that life can throw our way.Advance Praise forDo Tough:"Do Tough is a moving, motivating montage of love, tragedy and triumph!"—Matthew Thompson"Maria Parker has delicately woven two of the toughest challenges in her life into an inspiring and tender story. This is much more than a feel-good/tear jerking/true-grit story: It's an easy to read, step-by-step tutorial of how to develop the necessary traits and life skills to be successful at whatever you do, tough or not!"—Larry Oslund, Ultra Cycling World Record Holder"Do Toughreads in an honest, conversational voice - soft but with force. The ups and downs of cancer, motherhood