Throwing Rocks at Houses
My Life in and out of Curling
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Curling legend Colleen Jones opens up about her extraordinary career and life
Curling is possibly the most beloved sport across Canada, and Colleen Jones has been one of its brightest stars. She was only nineteen years old when she won her first provincial championship, and she became the youngest skip, at age twenty-two, ever to win the Canadian women's curling championship: the Tournament of Hearts. She went on to win it a total of six times, with an unprecedented four in a row in the early 2000s, along with her two world championships. No other women’s team has matched that record. Here, she tells the stories of her remarkable career—from the pure joy of the game to outworking her competition, year after year, always striving to be just a little bit better.
But Colleen’s story is about more than a love of curling. As a champion at the pinnacle of her sport, as a popular CBC broadcaster, and as a mother of two, Colleen Jones seemed to have it all. Then a serious illness struck, and threatened ti rob her of all she had worked for. But Colleen, determined as ever, emerged with a renewed love of life and a powerful message about achieving authentic personal fulfillment.
Throwing Rocks at Houses is a candid, charming and thoughtful story about rising to the top only to learn how easily it can all be taken away. Whether career, family, or personal health, her amazing journey reveals, more than anything, all that matters most in life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The remarkable curling career of Jones mirrors the game's increase in popularity. As readers learn about her drive and determination to be a winner, and her journey from humble beginnings in a large Nova Scotia family to becoming a Canadian and world champion, the sport grows too television enters the picture; the rules change; sponsors add money to the equation; training, both mentally and physically, evolves. Jones went 17 years between Canadian titles, and she draws a parallel to hockey great Gordie Howe, wondering whether "longevity like ours required an intensity that was not easy to let go of." Her bright personality comes through in the writing, as it has for years on the CBC, where she has been a radio and TV journalist and, most memorably, a weather reporter calling in live from various hot spots. Fortunately, the book doesn't get bogged down in techniques and strategies (that was her 2007 book, Curling Secrets). Non-curlers can still enjoy the personal triumphs of her story: in curling, in her media days, and especially in overcoming near-fatal bacterial meningitis. Those who follow the sport will enjoy the behind-the-scenes tales from the Scott Tournament of Hearts and the world championships, and appreciate the lessons Jones learned along the way.
