Customer Reviews

To the Edge and Back: My Story from Organ Transplant Survivor to Olympic Snowboarder

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Before picking up the book, everyone should be ready for an incredibly inspiring story. Having survived a liver transplant to return to a professional athletic career, and then win an olympic medal should leave anyone in complete awe. Comparisons to Lance Armstrong and his book campaign will abound. However, in "To the Edge and Back," Klug does much more than just inspire. The story is an incredible one of course, but this piece is also very well written and impeccably put together. Each of the chapters brings the reader to (and sometimes past) the verge of tears, and then moments later has one holding his/her sides in laughter. What will seem to many as a story primarily about overcoming unimaginable odds offers much more as Klug pays homage to his sport, his friends and his family. The book is clearly an influential work for Chris's primary cause of organ donation, and shows readers the importance of the medical miracle and the necessity for more organ donors right here in America. This is a must read for all athletes, but is a moving and entertaining work that should find its way onto bookshelves and bedside tables world wide.

From the moment I picked up this book I had a tough time putting it down. This book will have you both laughing hysterically and crying. "To The Edge and Back" is not only a truly inspirational story of Chris Klug and his epic story of going from Organ Transplant survivor to Olympic Athlete; it also speaks to the history and character of the sport of snowboarding. From it's beginnings as an "outcast" sport that "will never last" to becoming an Olympic sport, "To the Edge and Back" gives us a peak into what snowboarding (and its athletes) are all about and the obstacles that the sport has had to overcome.

The book tells a story of a dream, and an athlete who refused to ever let go of that dream even while facing head-on the reality of his own impending mortality. Seeing & feeling the impact of organ donation from both sides, both the donor family and the recipient, truly makes this an epic read and a story that needs to be heard/read by all.

This is simply an amazing story. From beginning to end, it instills a sense of wanting to go out and live life to the fullest. It has everything a great book should. This book will make you laugh, cry, and appreciate life. A great inspirational story, everyone should have this in his or her collection. This book appeals not only to skiers and snowboarders but also across generations.

This is one of the most motivational books I have read. If you finish reading this book and aren't totally stoked about attacking life, you need serious help.

Imagine having a dream to be on an Olympic Snowboarding team BEFORE snowboarding was even accepted at most ski resorts, BEFORE snowboarding was even considered a sport. If I learned one thing while reading this book, it was to never tell a kid something is impossible.

I'd highly recommend this book as a present for parents to give their snowboarding teens. It shows how dedication, hard work and never giving up on yourself can be your ticket to anywhere.

Chris Klug and Steve Jackson's account of the Olympian's triumphant life is an excellent example of the modern sports autobiography: Truly spoken, well-written, and a glimpse inside a sport not too many readers probably know too much about. But it's Klug's life -- so far -- that intrigues. Like Lance Armstrong, Klug has faced adversity outside of sports and conquered it, making his athletic achievement so much more important and interesting. Top-notch work.

This is an excellent story of a determined athlete to overcome all odds, to obtain and to survive a liver transplant, then to bounce back to win an Olympic gold medal. It is written clearly, in an interesting manner. The author's expression of gratitude towards the donor family, and all other donor families, and his work in encouraging organ donation is exemplary.

I came across this book while searching under the keywords Liver Transplant. There is proportionally very little about liver transplant as such in this book. The author is diagnosed with liver failure, put on a waiting list, moved up on it, then he got the transplant, and he recovered quite well after that, and went on to win an Olympic medal. These things in themselves are interesting, but the liver transplant in this narration is presented in an off-hand, passing manner, with an eye on the snow covered peaks. His description of the surgery, as if he was awake during it, is interesting, and not generally available elsewhere in books like this. The transplant itself almost turns out to be a non-event here, and is treated by the author as a hindrance or a nuisance to be gotten out of the way to something else that matters more. There is some information about liver transplant in this book, and some may find it to be adequate. The author does not claim to be writing an encyclopedic work on liver transplant either.

As a non-athletic, non-skier person, I actually found 2-3 chapters about the transplant holding my attention. I skimmed through the rest, which others have found captivating, and it probably is. Therefore, the conclusion, that this is an excellent book, but it is not the first choice for someone primarily interested in liver transplant.