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July 8, 2007

Column: Raisin's book a triumph in all the right ways

By Keith A. Cerniglia

With few exceptions, many of the books either written by athletes or their stories handed to ghostwriters are — let’s be kind here — a pile of rubbish.

Dalton cyclist Saul Raisin’s emotional journey through the months after his near-fatal crash in France is one of the pleasant exceptions.

During one of those do-nothing days that make the summer so worthwhile, I had Raisin’s “Tour de Life: From Coma to Competition” next to Jose Canseco’s 2005 tell-all expose about baseball’s steroids culture.

Which one of those did I leave on the couch and which did I take for tableside reading that night?

Canseco’s was an object at rest — and it remained at rest.

Raisin’s book, co-authored with cycling afficionado Dave Shields and published by Three Story Press in Salt Lake City, keeps you turning the pages as if you’re flying down one of the hills in Saul’s sport of choice.

There’s no contrived drama to this story. Then 23, Raisin underwent emergency removal of the second and third Gyri of his brain’s temporal lobe.

It doesn’t get more real or harrowing than that.

This is where it began for Raisin, a native of Dalton and a graduate of Dalton High School. But the nightmare didn’t end for months and months, and Raisin takes you through each of the peaks and valleys he hit during his recovery period.Aside from the temporal lobectomy — which really makes you blink — some of the more remarkable parts of the book:

— Seventy percent of people who experience catastrophic events have a loved one eventually leave them. Raisin’s then-girlfriend abandoned him a few months after his crash. It’s brutal to think about, but I have found this to be absolutely true in other stories I’ve heard.

— Raisin was biologically designed to be successful as a cyclist. The curvature of his spine that rocked his youth resulted in a considerably larger chest cavity and a “more aerodynamic profile.” He has larger lungs and a larger-sized heart than most humans, which enable him to maximize his oxygen intake.

— Surgeons told Raisin that despite having to re-learn simple math and other things because of his lobectomy, he was average or above average in all but two neuropsychological exams he was administered. His main areas of concern remain “impulsivity and processing speed.” Focus is literally a top priority for Raisin. “Maybe I’ll have to start watching political debates,” he jokes.

In short, the book is a marvel and will have a permanent home in my library. I cannot relate with Saul’s sport or the many travails he experienced with his loving parents Jim and Yvonne at his side. But I feel like I can skim passages in this book if life ever seems to be spinning way out of control.

And grab perspective.

By sharing his story, Raisin has shared victory with all.

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