β Scribed by Claire Carver-Dias
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
All you ever thought about athletes, the Olympics, training and what it means to win, to fail, is turned on its head by Carver-Dias. Her writing evokes strong emotion but her style is lean and economical. Deborah Serravalle
You will never think of competitive sports in quite the same way. This book is a revelation. Jim Bennett, author of Behind the Lime Kilns
Claire is not only a competent writer with her educational background and communications expertise, she knows of what she writes from personal experience. She can take what is in the emotional 'hard to explain' part of an athlete and put it down on paper. Guy Scholz, author of Between the Sheets: Creating Curling Champions
The Games is literary fiction that explores the dark side of athletic pursuits. The novel follows six Olympic hopefuls in various sports as they claw their way to a berth on their national teams. Against the backdrop of their physical and spiritual striving is the tale of Sam, the disaffected brother of an Olympic rower. Isolated and rudderless, he falls under the sway of a social activist and terrorist who has his own insidious plans for the Games. The six Olympic hopefuls are Jayna in basketball, Lexi in rowing, Andrea in kayaking, Vincent in swimming, Yasmine in the marathon, and JJ in rowing. To make it to the top, each must overcome their personal demons. In the process, their bodies, dreams, and relationships will falter and crumble as they fight for a spot at the Olympic Games. In an arena this cutthroat, few will make it, while the rest will have to justify a lifetimes investment in attaining an athletic prowess that eventually failed to make the cut. Juxtaposed alongside the athletes stories is the sordid tale of Sam. As he knows all too well, there are many different kinds of losing, from losing the race to losing oneself. In his search for God and stability, what he encounters are their opposites. His own involvement with terrorism becomes a violent and pathetic attempt to redeem himself from personal failures. This stirring fictionalized account drips with authenticity from the authors own experiences as an Olympic athlete. Ultimately, The Games is an absorbing tale of false gods, from the search for belonging and redemption to loneliness and personal suffering. In their quest for athletic glory, these ultra-competitive athletes will learn a lifetimes knowledge of what it means to win and to fail.
Claire Carver-Dias is an Olympic medalist who has also won two PanAm Games gold medals, two World Championship bronze medals, two Commonwealth Games gold medals, and over twenty national titles. She worked in Communications for the Canadian Olympic Committee and for several sport federations, writing about athletes and their accomplishments. She currently works as an executive coach and freelance writer. She lives with her husband and children in Oakville, Canada.
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