Lance Edward Armstrong, born in Plano, TX, on September 18, 1971, had a difficult childhood. His mother, Linda Mooneyham, was a high-school student with dreams of joining drill team and going to college. Instead, she found herself a newly married, 16-year-old dropout. Lance's biological father, Eddie Gunderson, was a reluctant father and abusive husband.

When Lance was two years old, Mooneyham divorced Gunderson, and not long after, married salesman Terry Armstrong. The restless and rambunctious boy never bonded with his stern and abusive stepfather, although the elder Armstrong was present for the greater part of his childhood.

Biographer John Wilcockson believes Lance Armstrong's rocky relationship with his stepfather, though in some ways traumatic, was key to his development as a world-class athlete: "I believe that the 14 years he was Lance's dad was a very interesting period. That's when the making of Lance as a champion happened."

MEET THE AUTHOR

Anita has been writing for pay for about 15 years now. She's fluent in a variety of styles--journalistic, academic, scientific, technical; and across a variety of media--print, web, social. She likes to think outside the box, while still keeping track of how far she's pushed the envelope. In addition to writing and editing, she enjoys designing layouts and graphics.

Long ago, she was a sponsored athlete and speed freak. Nowadays, she prefers the pursuit of inner peace through yoga and tai qi. She grew up in the Bay Area of California back when Silicon Valley was prune orchards and garlic fields, graduating from San Leandro High and then U.C. Davis. After a decade of living in the Pacific Northwest, she's now happily settled in Salt Lake City, UT-although she does miss the seafood. She shares her home with Molly and Linus, a pair of dogs devoted to teaching her about enjoying life to the fullest.

EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK

During his recovery and rehabilitation, Armstrong met the second important woman in his life. Kristin Richard was working for a public relations firm in Austin when she met Armstrong at a charity event. A year later they married, she quit her job, and they moved to the French Riviera.

While Armstrong was returning to the rigors of being a professional athlete, Richard stayed home to raise their three children: Luke, born in October 1999, and twin daughters Isabelle and Grace, born in 2001. All three children were conceived via in vitro fertilization, using sperm stored

before Armstrong underwent chemotherapy.

The marriage between the "picture-perfect couple" ended with divorce in 2003. Underrated, perhaps, in public opinion, is how Armstrong remains actively involved his first three children and on friendly terms with ex-wife Kristin Richard.

Buy a copy to keep reading!