Rising Above: How 11 Athletes Overcame Challenges in Their Youth to Become Stars

by Gregory Zuckerman

Discover the inspirational real-life stories of superstar athletes like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Tim Howard, and more!
     
Team USA goalkeeper Tim Howard was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome in 6th grade. He went on to become a national treasure after single-handedly keeping America competitive in the 2014 World Cup. Stephen Curry was told he was too small, too weak, and too slow to even receive a scholarship to play college basketball. He outworked everyone and went on to become MVP of the National Basketball Association. Jim Abbott was born without his right hand, yet he refused to be defined by what he lacked. He went on to pitch a no-hitter in the Major Leagues.

Athlete after athlete in this book found discipline, hope, and inspiration on the playing field, rising above their circumstances. Filled with first-hand accounts from stars who exemplify the idea of enduring at all costs,  Rising Above  will serve as a must-read source of inspiration for kids and sports fans of all ages.

Praise for Rising Above

A Scholastic Teacher magazine Summer Reading List selection
A  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Summer Reading List selection

"An easy pitch for middle school sports lovers."-- School Library Journal

“This collection of mini-bios about athletes who overcame major obstacles packs a powerful message—perseverance and passion pay off. Even non-sports fans will cheer for superstars like LeBron James and Stephen Curry.”-- Scholastic Teacher

"So many of the obstacles that these athletes share are retold using personal interviews and primary source material that young readers will find very relatable. Though the people chronicled are all athletes, their stories have morals that are easily transferred to life off the court or the field. The highly relevant message is that no situation is too dire or insurmountable with the right attitude and that young people shouldn't allow setbacks to define them."-- Booklist

"[O]ften inspiring . . . The underdog stories reveal that dedication and perseverance pay off, as well as that sports can serve as needed outlets and refuges." --Publishers Weekly


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Biography, Middle Grade, Short Stories

256 pages, Library Binding

Published May 3, 2016

About the author

Gregory Zuckerman is a Special Writer at The Wall Street Journal, a 25-year veteran of the paper and a three-time winner of the Gerald Loeb award -- the highest honor in business journalism.

Greg is the author of six books: A Shot to Save the World: The Inside Story of the Life-or-Death Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine; The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution; The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters; The Greatest Trade Ever: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of How John Paulson Defied Wall Street and Made Financial History; Rising Above: How 11 Athletes Overcame Challenges in Their Youth to Become Stars and Rising Above: Inspiring Women in Sports.

Greg lives with his wife and two sons in West Orange, N.J., where they enjoy the Yankees in the summer, root for the Giants in the fall, and reminisce about Linsanity in the winter.

Reviews

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short biographies of athletes who have overcome hardships to go on to be top athletes in their sports.I found Tim Howard's story the most interesting, as he has Tourette's syndrome and his path was a bit different. Jim Abbott pitched in the majors with only one hand, and his story was important because he did not want to be know as being a great one-handed pitcher, but as a great pitcher, period. He did not want any special consideration.
Growing up male and black in a one-parent family in the inner city is a hard obstacle to overcome America, no matter how skilled an athlete you are. LeBron and Dwayne Wade did it, and it is pretty amazing that they survived.
There is only one female athlete included in the collection, which is unfortunate, but may silently be making the statement that being female in the sports world is a challenge itself.
I enjoyed learning more about these sports stars.

[Sean Gillson]

Rising above is a book about 11 athletes who have persevered to get to where they are. these athletes include some of the most famous basketball players and some other lesser known athletes. this book was written by a dad who's son is an avid sports fan and wanted his dad to write a book about athletes who have gone through adversity. I thought this book was a great read especially for an athlete.

at lot of younger athletes out there have faced setbacks in their career and this book shows that even the best athletes out there have had hardship. this book could be the motivation someone needs to go out and prove themselves. as a basketball player myself who is vertically challenged learning that Stephen Curry one of the best to play the game was faced with the same problem is an inspiration. will I be as tall as him or will I make the NBA probably not but there is no reason to not try my absolute hardest because that's what curry did and now there are more people who know his name then there are not.

This book is for anyone who needs a little boost of confidence in doing what they love. this book gives people examples of others who have gone through what they are and have turned out extremely successful. Even if you aren't going through hardships in your interest it is interesting hearing about the stories of very successful and how they didn't just stroll there way to the top they had to climb through countless amounts of obstacles. I definitely recommend this book for anyone you wont regret it.

[Ben Cannon]

In my opinion Rising Above had some ups and downs in the book. I rate this book an seven because it was not exciting at some moments but was also interesting to read.
Rising Above is about professional athletes stories about how they all got to the big leagues. For example Tim Howard, a professional soccer player struggled a lot with OCD when he was young. His coach, told him to always think positive and if you get scored on jump up and get back to saving your team. When he was older, he grew up to being an amazing soccer star. The book has incredible stories about athletes who have had struggles in their life and have to overcome them such as Lebron James and Dwyane Wade.
In my opinion Rising Above is a great factual and entertaining book. Zuckerman did achieve making it informational and entertaining because he did not leave a detail out of the stories. Some of the stories in the book are effective but some are not due to others opinion to sports. The strengths are there is a lot of detail added in the book. The weakness is some of the chapters are not interesting then the others.
I would recommend this book to sports fans out there with a good knowledge of sports to like this book. I think that Rising Above was a great novel with a few flaws that could be fixed in the future of sports books.

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rising Above is a great book by Elijah, Gregory, and Gabriel Zuckerman. The book about 11, athletes who have faced adversity in the lives and their road to the top. All 11 of these athletes have had a very hard childhood. Some of the things that gave their lives adversity were things like poverty, drug use, abuse, medical deficiencies, and racism, but the one thing they have incoming is to live a better life then they did in there childhood. All of these athletes realize that sports was the way out of there troubles. Some of these athletes like Lebron James, Daywane Wade, and Stephen Curry are future Hall of Famers. In my opinion, this was the best sportsbook of all time.
Rising above was proof to me that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. Some good things about the book are the setting, plot, and voice. The setting was great it was like I was there as the athlete. He made the situation a lot worse and dramatic. The plot was written in a way where when you think things could not get any worse it did and you really realize how hard their life is. Lastly, the voice was terrific and it was like I was the athlete but at other times He wrote it very well.
All an All this was a very good book and I recommend it to anyone who struggles with adversity and want to have a better life.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Admittedly, this type of book is not my jam, but for nonfiction stories about a diverse collection of athletes overcoming adversity, what should've been a book full of inspirational stories just fell flat. The writing wasn't engaging, and I found my mind wandering throughout many of the stories. I was happy when it came to an end.

I wonder, though, how the book might connect with my students, especially those who love sports and/or don't have the attention span for a typical novel's story arc.

[Landon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. It is a great book for young adults. Young adults need to learn how to get over things and this is exactly what this book is about. Getting over struggles. Everybody in the world has struggles. This book helped me with my positivity. I was able to realize that we can all be successful. We just have to have the want to, to be successful. This book is a great book for young readers and for people who love sports.

[PaulL · Rating 5 out of 5]

never doubt yourself, go beyond

[Addi Bowers · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was so inspiring to hear all these athletes amazing story’s. makes me realize how fortunate i am in life

[Josh Nobles · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was about people who play sports and how they started out. some of the people had a rough life some had it easy. the theme of the book is couarge b/c some people had trouble they ended up being great. i recomend this for people who like sports

[victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read this book a countless number of times, and still I love the stories. When you think of Lebron, you think of all of his championship, not his difficult childhood. This story gives you countless examples of, if you can work hard, you can go far no matter who you are.

[Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

the theme is to keep working hard and staying out of trouble

[Zach Koenig · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you know a child who is a burgeoning sports fan, but may not read at the higher levels usually reserved for such titles, “Rising Above” needs to be in his/her hands right now!

The concept of “Rising Above” is simple enough, in that it collects 11 athlete stories of overcoming severe adversity in their childhoods. There are two main things that impress me about the experience:

It uses ultra-relevant athletes. Names like Lebron James, Steph Curry, Tim Howard, & Dwyane Wade will initially draw young readers in just on name-recognition alone. The stories of all 11 athletes are great, but they wouldn’t get read if not for the “big names” drawing eyeballs.
The book is written at a level of very easy comprehension. It isn’t “dumbed down”, by any means, but it is just an easy-to-read book that could be enjoyed even by an upper-elementary school reader.

To be honest, even adults might be able to enjoy “Rising Above”. The level of complexity (low) might turn some off, but the strength of the material crosses all age boundaries. The concept of fighting through adversity and coming out on top is universal.

So, I have to give high marks to author Gregory Zuckerman (as well as children Elijah & Gabriel) for the concept behind “Rising Above”. It presents compelling sports stories in an easy-to-digest format, without simplifying them to the point of boredom. Perfect for struggling readers (without alienating more sophisticated bibliophiles) This one could (and probably should) be in every school library and every childhood bedroom bookshelf.

[Christine Irvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Gregory Zuckerman was inspired by his two sons, Elijah and Gabriel, to write this book. Elijah is an avid sports fan who likes to collect athlete's autographs. He wanted his dad to write a book about athletes who have overcome adversity. Elijah talked his dad into doing the book, and then his brother Gabriel decided to join in on the project. Together, they have put together this great book about superstar athletes who have overcome some type of challenge to get where they are today.

Readers will enjoy stories about athletes like Jim Abbott who, although born without a right hand, became a major league pitcher. You will also read about Althea Gibson the first black athlete to win the Grand Slam in the world of tennis. These, and other stories will enlighten and inspire you.

Although I really liked the book, I have a couple of issues with it. First, I was disheartened to discover that out of 11 stories, only one of them is about a female athlete. That's less than one percent of the total. Also, I think it would have been nice if some pictures of the athletes mentioned were included in the book. The only pictures are the three colored ones on the cover.

All in all, though, this is a great book, particularly for kids who think they can't succeed because of some issue in their life. Maybe after reading this book, they will realize they can do it, after all.

[Teresa Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

No matter who you are, you will face hard things. This book highlights 11 athletes who overcame difficult challenges to find success and more importantly, inner strength. I was happy to see that poverty wasn't the only challenge in the book. Soccer player, Tim Howard, deals with Tourette syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder on a daily basis. He was ridiculed and belittled most of his childhood. He found a reprieve in sports. They were the one place he could focus on something other than his constant tics. With determination and hard work, Tim became one of the world's best goalies, even making 16 saves in one game during the 2014 World Cup! The remaining accounts are similar to Tim's and all are inspiring. One account includes dealing with sexual abuse. It is handled appropriately and with care. I was glad to see a female athlete included, but disappointed that it seemed Althea's main challenge was her own rebellious attitude. But that can be a huge obstacle to success, so it is a good lesson as well. Everyone, especially young people, can benefit from a role model, and this book is a great place to find one.

[Shayna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good review of Rising Above.

Over the first quarter I read a book called Rising Above by Gregory Zuckerman. It is about 11 athletes who overcame challenges in their childhood. The author described the challenges all throughout the book, and each chapter is a different person.
I really liked this book and not just because I am into sports. I would say that the author could’ve chose more recognizable people throughout the book not just three characters. I would also say that the author made it more for teens and it was not really kid friendly. However I did like how the author described the hard times these athletes had in great detail. The characters the author chose have great life stories to share and I really like how the author incorporated all their struggles and made it into a book.
I personally liked this book and would rate in 4.5 stars. Although I did like it, most kids under 9 would probably not enjoy it as much. I would recommend it to kids and adults, but kids under 9 should not read it.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great and also really interesting finding out about 11 superstar athletes and the challenges they had to overcome in their childhood to become stars, such as Stephen Curry Dwayne Wade,Tim Howard and Lebron James. For me, reading this book gave me an understanding of how hard these athletes had to fight to excel at their professional sports. I am a big follower of basketball.Before reading this book I viewed the N.B.A players in the book as players on a TV. I now view them in a entirely different way.I now view them as amazing individuals that had to work hard through their childhood challenges to get where they are today. The book was interesting because it was relevant to what I do and watch everyday.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's what I liked: Descriptions of how much each athlete overcome and the diverse issues each person dealt with--some of these were really horrible situations but the authors dealt with it in a way that kids can understand; very inspiring stories but told in such a down to earth way; loved the variety of the sports.

What I didn't like: There was one female athlete's story. Just one. Out of 11? I didn't realize that until the end of the book and if I hadn't enjoyed the stories I had read, I would have thrown the dang book out the window. And the other thing? It just would have been nice to have a photo of each athlete instead of just the three pictured on the cover.

[Maria Burnham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, okay, so I didn't "read" the entire book, but I did skim a good chunk of it and really like this book as a non-fiction option for my students (especially some of my reluctant readers who enjoy sports). I read the first chapter about Team USA goalkeeper Tim Howard and how he deals with his OCD and Tourette's Syndrome in order to play professional soccer. The book also highlights Althea Gibson, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, and seven others. A wonderful read, especially for those students going through a hard time and want to feel that there is hope beyond the frustrations of life.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a very good read. It was also informational and very inspiring. Reading about the different athletes and their stories taught me that anything is possible if one has big dreams and works hard. I really liked how the start of every chapter captured my attention. The way the author wrote the book was very suspenseful so I never knew what would happen next. My favorite thing about this book is that shows how hard the athletes worked to get where they are today. Finally, this book is definitely worth reading.

[Tony Daher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great book because i got to know more about athletes and now i know even more athletes that i did not know at first. The book talked about how athletes had to over come life obstacles like being poor, having a mental illness, drugs, or a college not wanting you.
I would suggest this book to people who are interested in sports and follow sports and are interest on how athletes grew up.

[Werth28 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Rising Above by Gregory Zuckerman was a great book. It is made up of 11 short stories of how professional athletes overcame challenges in their youths. They overcame addiction, poverty, birth defects, mental illnesses, and more. And these were like people Michael Jordan and Dwane Wade. So they were not nobodies. They were some of the best athletes the world has ever seen. This is a great book. I would recommend it for readers 10 and older. Enjoy!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I particularly like how the difficulties overcome vary so much: from Tourette's syndrome, to an unstable home life, to racial discrimination to simply being thought of as too small and weak to be a professional athlete. That, combined with the fact that overcoming that challenge is what made these athletes great, provides food for thought for anyone.

[Ryan O · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing if you like sports like me. It told you about how eleven sport pros overcame they're ruff and hard childhood. It features LeBron James, Steph Curry, Dwayne Wade and more. An example of one of these sport pros featured in the book is Serge Ibaka who in my opinion had the worst, hardest and most ruff child hood in the whole book. Want to know. Read to find out. If so enjoy.

[Matt Sabin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book that shows you the real struggles these stars faced while they were young and overcame all these obstacles to become a professional athlete. The way the author Gregory Zuckerman lets us connect to the characters is so amazing. I want to read more of his books because of how much I wanted to read and finish this book.

[Sara-Zoe Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exactly as promised and written in a kid appealing fashion. There's a common theme of, "I didn't let anybody tell me I couldn't be a star athlete" but there's also a common theme of hard work and perseverance and focus. Lots of kids will want to read this book.

[Shauna Yusko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty fabulous. Only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was that I wished they could've found at least one more female athlete to include. But it is spot on and will definitely find fans!

[Teagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book with lots of advice to take away from the book and it has lots of interesting facts about really good athletes.

[Collin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collin Kimball-Mckavish


I read Rising Above by Gregory Zuckerman. This book is about what athletes need to overcome to be a professional. I would give this book a 4 out of 5 because some of the authors words didn't make sense to me. The genre of this book is nonfiction because it is about real athletes.

I got this book at my library because my librarian recommended it for me. She told me right. This was one of the best books I have ever read, but it still had some flaws. One flaw was that they didn’t say enough about after they overcame their childhood. It just told you that they were a pro. Also for some of the chapters it didn’t give endings that made me satisfied.

The author of this book is now my favorite. He put so much detail into this book. He makes other books like this. The characters in this book were in real life which makes it hard to discuss, but I still can. Lebron James and all the characters are athletic, but he might be the most. He is the best in the league. When he was younger he had to overcome his parents using drugs. Now he is a G.O.A.T.

I would compare this book to a movie called 42 because it is about Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson is a pro baseball player. This book and the movie both tell about the person and what they had to overcome. My experience of this book is that I had a great time reading it. I recommend this to people who like sports or like factual books.

This book made me want to read it and not many books make me want to do that. Rising above is a great overall book. I think everyone if they have the time should read this book.
Collin Kimball-Mckavish


I read Rising Above by Gregory Zuckerman. This book is about what athletes need to overcome to be a professional. I would give this book a 4 out of 5 because some of the authors words didn't make sense to me. The genre of this book is nonfiction because it is about real athletes.

I got this book at my library because my librarian recommended it for me. She told me right. This was one of the best books I have ever read, but it still had some flaws. One flaw was that they didn’t say enough about after they overcame their childhood. It just told you that they were a pro. Also for some of the chapters it didn’t give endings that made me satisfied.

The author of this book is now my favorite. He put so much detail into this book. He makes other books like this. The characters in this book were in real life which makes it hard to discuss, but I still can. Lebron James and all the characters are athletic, but he might be the most. He is the best in the league. When he was younger he had to overcome his parents using drugs. Now he is a G.O.A.T.

I would compare this book to a movie called 42 because it is about Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson is a pro baseball player. This book and the movie both tell about the person and what they had to overcome. My experience of this book is that I had a great time reading it. I recommend this to people who like sports or like factual books.

This book made me want to read it and not many books make me want to do that. Rising above is a great overall book. I think everyone if they have the time should read this book.

[Alecia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED this book. It's only February, but it's the best book I've read so far this year. I love sports and inspirational stories that highlight hardworking individuals who have overcome adversity, and this book is all of that and more.

I enjoy the format of this book - learning about 11 incredible individuals in one book with 11 different chapters- rather than taking a deep dive into just one of them in a full biography, and I feel like many young readers might feel the same.

I came across this book in the young adult, middle school section of my local library, and it caught my attention. So glad I picked it up, and I honestly might even buy a copy for my classroom to loan to sports-loving students looking for a book to read (even though I'm a Spanish teacher) The short biographies are just filled with great examples of hard work and perseverance; 11 fantastic role models that I think young readers would benefit from reading about. I know one of my 7th graders who loves sports read it already, and he said he loved it too.

The author did a great job selecting 11 athletes of diverse backgrounds with diverse challenges (racism, sexual abuse, death of a parent from illness, substance abuse, illiteracy, people doubting you, addiction of family members, thoughts of suicide, getting arrested, war, dropping out of school and more) so I think so many young readers will find someone that they connect with.

A variety of sports were also included, but basketball players were about half of the focus; it's my favorite sport so I didn't mind that at all. I learned so many new things about athletes I already knew of as well as athletes I had never heard of, such as Serge Ibaka, an NBA player from the Republic of the Congo

I'm actually already planning on incorporating a mini lesson on Serge Ibaka into my next Spanish lesson (my students are currently learning about West Africa in Social Studies, and he moved to Spain to play basketball before playing for the NBA) because he speaks English, Spanish and French, and I want to share his inspiring story with my students.

I would definitely read a sequel about 11 different athletes (having a few more female athletes included would be my one request). Such a great book. It should have more reviews, ratings and readers. Well done to the author and his sons who collaborated on its creation.

[Joseph Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rising Above by Gregory Zuckerman with Elijah and Gabriel Zuckerman features the stories of many star athletes who have overcome obstacles in their lives. The subject of the book is to rise above and to do your best no matter what situation you are in. The book presents sports all stars who had a rough childhood or experienced challenges growing up. It is written in an engaging way because it is about sports stars we all know and love and want to learn more about.

The book has a serious and optimistic tone because it shares the athletes’ challenges in a serious way but it is optimistic because each story shows how the athletes’ overcome their challenges so it gives the reader hope and confidence that they can overcome their own challenges. Shane Battier’s chapter shows this tone when he says, “ When I was eight, nine, or ten, I wish I could have seen a snapshot of myself at thirty-five or thirty-six and how awesome it is to be different and not like everyone else” (Zuckerman 150).

In general I think the book was great. It did not leave me bored to death like books I have read in the past. It kept me hooked because I was learning about how the best athletes had a rough childhood. The book was written in a way that I could easily relate to my own life. My favorite part of the book was when I was reading about LeBron James' childhood and how he had to live with his basketball coach and his family in order to attend school and to continue to play the sport he loved - basketball. If I could change one thing about this book I would like to have read about a variety of sports. The book mainly focused on soccer, basketball, and baseball. I would like to read about athletes from other sports like hockey who overcame their challenges. I would recommend this book to kids who like sports because they learn about athletes they love and also learn the importance of how to overcome a life challenge.