“I kept climbing, and the slope became steeper. This ascent seemed to press a button inside me. As I climbed, I began to reflect on my life, in all its phases: my childhood, the early struggles, the illness, how it changed me. Perhaps the primal act of climbing forced me to confront the issues I had been avoiding for weeks. It was time to stop procrastinating, I realized. Keep moving forward, I told myself.

As I continued the climb, I saw my life as a whole. I saw how fortunate I had been, I saw its purpose. And it was simply this: I was destined for a great, difficult ascent.” It is the narrative of a journey, from a challenging beginning to triumph, tragedy, transformation, and transcendence. It is the personal account of Lance Armstrong's life up to that point, from his childhood to early successes, the near-fatal cancer, recovery, life after cancer, his greatest triumphs (winning the Tour de France in 1999), marriage, and the birth of his first child.