Dara Torres captured the hearts and minds of Americans of all ages when she launched her Olympic comeback as a new mother at the age of forty-one--years after she had retired from competitive swimming and eight years since her last Olympics. When she took three silver medals in Beijing--including a heartbreaking .01-second finish behind the gold medalist in the women's 50-meter freestyle--America loved her all the more for her astonishing achievement and her good-natured acceptance of the results.

Now, in Age Is Just a Number, Dara reveals how the dream of an Olympic comeback first came to her--when she was months into her first, hard-won pregnancy. With humor and candor, Dara recounts how she returned to serious training--while nursing her infant daughter and contending with her beloved father's long battle with cancer.

Dara talks frankly about diving back in for this comeback; about being an older athlete in a younger athletes' game; about competition, doubt, and belief; about working through pain and uncertainty; and finally--about seizing the moment and, most important, never giving up. A truly self-made legend, her story will resonate with women of all ages--and with anyone daring to entertain a seemingly impossible dream.