Sports stories often celebrate victory — the trophy moments, the underdog comebacks, the dramatic final plays that electrify stadiums. But some of the greatest athletic triumphs don’t happen under bright lights or roaring crowds. They happen quietly, persistently, and far from any scoreboard.
In Losing Richard, Julie Maxwell reveals a story where sports become more than physical feats — they become a lifeline, a form of freedom, a symbol of resilience, and the thread that held a family together through decades of challenge.
A Childhood Fight That Became a Lifetime of Strength
Nick, Julie and Richard’s son, entered the world fighting for his life. Born three months premature, he spent over 90 days in the neonatal intensive care unit. Against overwhelming odds, he survived — but was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
In many families, this diagnosis would close doors. In theirs, it opened new ones.
Sports became Nick’s liberation, his outlet, his arena.
From wheelchair sports camps to adaptive ski schools, he stepped onto every field available to him — not in pursuit of medals, but in pursuit of independence and joy. These were not watered-down programs; they were competitive, athletic, and demanding. The kind where athletes push themselves past limits most people never imagine.
Adaptive Sports: Where Determination Becomes Grit
Maxwell’s memoir shines a spotlight on a world many sports fans rarely encounter: adaptive athletics. At summer camps in the mountains of Yosemite and wheelchair sports programs in California, Nick found himself surrounded by athletes who competed with pride, passion, and toughness.
These programs weren’t feel-good sideshows — they were legitimate athletic spaces.
• Kids raced in specialized wheelchairs
• Climbed trails with adaptive equipment
• Competed in swimming and archery
• Battled in basketball, racing, and team challenges
For Nick, sports were more than recreation. They were proof of capability — moments where he wasn’t “the boy with a disability,” but simply an athlete.
One of the memoir’s most striking images captures this spirit: Nick at the top of Vernal Falls in Yosemite, surrounded by counselors, beaming with pride — the mountain conquered on his terms.
A Father’s Love Expressed Through Sport
Richard, before dementia shadowed his life, was a lifelong athlete himself — especially on the tennis court. Tennis wasn’t just a pastime; it was part of his identity.
Maxwell describes years of watching him compete, cheering him on, absorbing his enthusiasm. He wasn’t a casual player — he played with precision, power, and strategy. Competing lit him up. Sports sharpened him.
Later in life, tennis became an emotional anchor for Richard, a reminder of who he had been: strong, capable, and competitive.
Even after cognitive decline began, he remained connected to his tennis friends. Their camaraderie grounded him, providing familiarity and belonging — two things dementia slowly steals.
Family Athletics: When Sports Bring People Back to Life
While many sports stories focus on athletes alone, Maxwell’s memoir illustrates how sports can transform entire families. Some of the most powerful memories are not victories or medals, but everyday scenes that reflect love through movement:
• Richard holding Nick high on his shoulders before jumping into the pool
• Nick racing across the beach sand in California
• Adaptive horseback riding programs that gave Nick balance and confidence
• Long family hikes under towering Redwoods
• Ski trips to Big Bear, where Nick took adaptive lessons with pride
These moments weren’t just athletic milestones — they were emotional lifelines for parents navigating medical uncertainty, career stress, and later, unimaginable loss.
The Heroes Behind Every Athlete
What sports fans often overlook is the infrastructure of love behind every athletic journey. Maxwell’s memoir honors the coaches, counselors, physical therapists, neighbors, and friends who stepped in for Nick — and later, for Richard.
Whether it was camp counselors ensuring Nick could participate in every activity, or Richard’s tennis community supporting him through cognitive decline, the book illustrates a truth all athletes know:
Sports are never just about one individual. They are about a team — seen and unseen.
A Final Sports Lesson: Competition Isn’t Always on a Field
The most emotional parts of Maxwell’s story reveal the hardest competition her family ever faced — not against opponents, but against time, illness, and the unpredictable turns of life.
Nick’s death, after years of medical struggles, is described with heartbreaking honesty. Yet even in his final days, his spirit as an athlete — determined, hopeful, brave — continues to shine.
Richard’s later decline due to dementia becomes another kind of quiet, grueling marathon. One without finish lines, coaches, or playbooks. And Julie? She becomes the steady force — the endurance athlete in the background — navigating heartbreak with the kind of perseverance sports are built on.
What This Story Reminds Us
True athletic strength isn’t measured by speed or height or scoreboards.
It’s measured by the will to keep going.
To get up after unimaginable loss.
To keep loving when the world changes shape.
To keep showing up when the season never ends.
Losing Richard isn’t a traditional sports memoir — but it captures the very heart of sports: resilience, teamwork, courage, and triumph in the face of adversity.
And sometimes, the greatest victories are the ones no one sees.
