Former Leinster and Ireland rugby player Mike Ross has written his autobiography, Dark Arts.
The book is full of personal stories that go beyond sport. One example is how his wife almost died after giving birth to their first child in February 2011, when she developed an infection and underwent emergency surgery.
Mike was due to fly out to Scotland for a match, and was persuaded to do so by his wife. He says he was glad of the distraction at the time, but felt very guilty afterwards.
Another difficulty in his life was the death of his brother by suicide, aged just 16. Mike was still in school at the time and his concentration suffered as a result of the tragedy.
"It's been 20 years now and time certainly is a healer, but when I was writing this book it took me back to that time."
"It leaves a trail of devastation behind, but families either sink or swim. We didn't swim that well, but we swam. It brought us together, but it took us a long time to get back to a state of normality."
Many sportspeople struggle to adjust to retirement, but Mike feels the challenges he has gone through in his life prepared him for the change.
"I think I was better prepared because I knew what the real world was like outside of that bubble."
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