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The Garrett Gomez Story: A Jockey's Journey Through Addiction & Salvation
Before becoming one of the world’s foremost jockeys, Garrett Gomez was an alcoholic and a drug addict. Throughout his career, he established himself as an up-and-coming jockey, but just as it seemed that the racing world was his for the taking, he threw it all away, and retreated to a life where alcohol and drugs dictated his every move.The Garrett Gomez A Jockey’s Journey Through Addiction & Salvation captures the remarkable journey of a jockey who had it all, lost it all, and came back to win his life, his family and his career. Written by Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award winner Rudolph Alvarado with Garrett Gomez, this story of addiction and salvation will pull back the curtain on Mr. Gomez's life and reveal the story of a man, husband, father, jockey, and recovering addict who is still considered one of horse racing’s premier jockeys.
388 pages, Paperback
First published March 10, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 8, 2019
Rest in Peace, GoGo
May 3, 2012
If you don't know who Garrett Gomez is, you're probably not a horse racing fan. Today, Garrett is one of the top jocks in the horse racing game. He's been a leading money winner four years in a row (2006-2009), twice an Eclipse Award winner (the equivalent of an Oscar for actors), and was awarded the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 2011. The award is voted on by his peers and represents a jock that has brought honor to himself and the horse racing game. That he won that award is totally ironic because in 2002 his career was over because of his alcoholism and drug addiction. It was sad, another gifted athlete gone to waste. Garrett's fall from grace was reported in newspapers, but it wasn't until I read this book that I realized that his fall from grace in 2002 was but one of so many times that he threw away his career, his money, and most importantly, his family. I bought this book at Keeneland racetrack on April 27th and although it's 388 pages long, I finished the book in two days. I couldn't stop reading and was often afraid to turn the page; in fear of what I'd find next.
At Keeneland, I met Garrett and the book's author, Rudolph Alvarado. (I'd read Alvarado's book on Joe Hernandez, the voice of Santa Anita. It was an excellent read and in 2008 had won him the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, and over Dick Francis on top of that, so I had a good feeling that this book was going to be just as good.) Garrett told me that when he asked Mr. Alvarado to write the book that he wanted him to focus on his addiction and not on his career, per say. He also said that he wanted the truth told--all of it. Well, Mr. Alvarado succeeded on both counts. The truth is all there; even the troubled past that comes with Garrett's mother's side of his family--a family that was physically, mentally and even sexually abused by the head of the household, their father. I feel for Sandy Gomez (Garrett's mother) and her sister, Karen. They are so brave for sharing their stories. Alvarado manages to masterfully string their story into the bigger picture of Garrett's life. We see how his mother's past touched his life; including the fact that Garrett was introduced to drugs and alcohol while staying at his maternal grandparent's house during the summer.
The truth is there, but Alvarado also manages to weave in Garrett's career and how horse racing played a huge part in saving Garrett's life, and yet, this book is not so much about racing, it is an inspirational story about a man, a jockey, and father that found salvation, and with it a life worth living. I gave this book to my brother--he's a recovering alcoholic, ten years--and he called me in tears. "We all share the same story," he said, "some of us make it out and some of us don't."
I'm glad my brother made it out, and I'm certainly glad that Mr. Gomez made it out. I highly recommend this book. It is available at html://www.thegarrettgomezstory.com. It is also available on Amazon in hardback and an e-book.
At Keeneland, I met Garrett and the book's author, Rudolph Alvarado. (I'd read Alvarado's book on Joe Hernandez, the voice of Santa Anita. It was an excellent read and in 2008 had won him the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, and over Dick Francis on top of that, so I had a good feeling that this book was going to be just as good.) Garrett told me that when he asked Mr. Alvarado to write the book that he wanted him to focus on his addiction and not on his career, per say. He also said that he wanted the truth told--all of it. Well, Mr. Alvarado succeeded on both counts. The truth is all there; even the troubled past that comes with Garrett's mother's side of his family--a family that was physically, mentally and even sexually abused by the head of the household, their father. I feel for Sandy Gomez (Garrett's mother) and her sister, Karen. They are so brave for sharing their stories. Alvarado manages to masterfully string their story into the bigger picture of Garrett's life. We see how his mother's past touched his life; including the fact that Garrett was introduced to drugs and alcohol while staying at his maternal grandparent's house during the summer.
The truth is there, but Alvarado also manages to weave in Garrett's career and how horse racing played a huge part in saving Garrett's life, and yet, this book is not so much about racing, it is an inspirational story about a man, a jockey, and father that found salvation, and with it a life worth living. I gave this book to my brother--he's a recovering alcoholic, ten years--and he called me in tears. "We all share the same story," he said, "some of us make it out and some of us don't."
I'm glad my brother made it out, and I'm certainly glad that Mr. Gomez made it out. I highly recommend this book. It is available at html://www.thegarrettgomezstory.com. It is also available on Amazon in hardback and an e-book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews