For a few short years in the '90s, Monica Seles was the top female tennis player
in the world. Armed with her two-handed forehand and loud grunts, she was the
youngest player ever to win the French Open, the Virginia Slims championship and
a slew of other tournaments.

On April 30, 1993, Seles was attacked during a match with Steffi Graf. In front
of 6,000 people, a deranged man drove a nine-inch serrated boning knife into
Seles' back. The knife barely missed her spine, and it took years for her to
recover from the stabbing.

In her new book, "Getting a Grip," Seles describes how she developed an
addiction to food to cope with the emotional aftermath of the stabbing and her
father's death from cancer.

When Seles returned to tennis in 1995, the media and fans noticed that her body
had changed. Though she tried many diet and training regimens, Seles could not
stop eating compulsively.

After a foot injury sidelined her, she gave up dieting. Instead, she tried
conscious eating. "Chewing each piece calmly, I savored my food," she writes.
Scrapbooking became a way for her to process her father's death.

Seles' story is an affirmation that there is more to an athlete's life than
championships. With a light touch, she explains that eating can be both
pleasurable and healthful when done in moderation.