IP Picks Award 2009 Winner Best Creative Non-Fiction:
"Wobbles - An Olympic Story" by Nadine Neumann, NSW

"Wobbles" is the story of a young girl turned determined teenager turned remarkable young woman, who is following a dream that is always just out of reach. Nadine Neumann wants to be an Olympic swimmer, she trains every day and gives up a normal life, school friends, parties, sleep and at times her pride. But Nadine never gives up on her dream, not even when she is diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and forced to take a break from her beloved sport. From Perth to Germany, India to Sydney, Brisbane to Hong Kong the reader is invited to follow the trials and tribulations of a remarkable young woman, who will stop at nothing to achieve her goals.

"Nadine, you won't be able to swim like you used to. It would be unrealistic to think your body could cope with that, but you're pretty fit, so you might be one of the lucky ones. You might see some improvement in three, six months, but you know, most people struggle to get out of the worst of it for years. The research indicates that once you've got it, it's there for good, but people have found ways of managing it with things like meditation, vitamin treatments, you know?..."

The writing itself is at a remarkable level. The author is not afraid to show the bad along with the good and as such has the reader continuously changing their minds about the girl who never says no.

The judges were unanimous not only in the decision to judge the book a winner, but also in saying that "Wobbles" is so well crafted that even without a love for swimming, the reader will find this memoir to be a real page turner.


For a preview go to: http://www.nadineneumann.com.au/writer.html

From: http://www.ipoz.biz/News/eNews41.htm#picks09