Dedicated to the memory of two wrestling coaches and two writer friends,
The Imaginary Girlfriend is John Irving's candid memoir of his twin
careers in writing and wrestling. The award-winning author of
best-selling novels from The World According to Garp to In One
Person, Irving began writing when he was 14, the same age at which he
began to wrestle at Exeter. He competed as a wrestler for 20 years, was
certified as a referee at 24, and coached the sport until he was 47.
Irving coached his sons Colin and Brendan to New England championship
titles, a championship that he himself was denied.
In an autobiography filled with the humor and compassion one finds in
his fiction, Irving explores the interrelationship between the two
disciplines of writing and wrestling, from the days when he was a
beginner at both until his fourth wresting-related surgery at the age of
53. Writing as a father and mentor, he offers a lucid portrait of
those - writers and wrestlers from Kurt Vonnegut to Ted Seabrooke - who
played a mentor role in his development as a novelist, wrestler, and
wrestling coach. He reveals lessons he learned about the pursuit for
which he is best known, writing. And, as the Denver Post observed, "in
filling his narrative with anecdotes that are every bit as hilarious as
the antics in his novels, Irving combines the lessons of both obsessions
(wrestling and writing)...into a somber reflection on the importance of
living well."
