Arnold and Me: In the Shadow of the Austrian Oak - Softcover

Arnold Schwarzenegger's first love relives their six-year journey during his explosive first years in America. While she watches Arnold surpass his dreams, Barbara learns to transform hers -- from desiring what cannot be to cherishing what is so. As a woman who spends her adult life trying to get out from under Arnold's shadow, Barbara Baker learns about the shifting direction of life's journey. She hopes for normalcy during and after living with her stratospherically successful Austrian Oak bodybuilder. Barbara finds life anything but normal, however. Within Arnold and Me, she strips down this conjoined twosome as they launch their adult lives into polar opposite journeys. After their breakup, Arnold transcends the role of Hercules to become the Governator. He marries once and produces four children; to the contrary, the English Professor says "I do" four times, yet bears no offspring. Along with vintage photos and firsthand dialogue, the book's resolution forces their singular lives to merge at a satisfying junction. Despite their divergent paths, both Arnold and Barbara demonstrate that achieving one's dream demands a relentlessly flexible spirit. Barbara has skillfully rounded Arnold's corners by offering heartfelt nuances about this man who marked her for life. The author's enlightened voice also resonates with those who face relationship challenges over personal identity and fulfillment. She not only lifts herself into higher consciousness, but also the willing reader. Her journey has allowed her to find life's richness through accepting not only Arnold's daunting shadow, but also her own. This woman sings with energy, incrementally illuminating the rich lives of two ex-lovers within a beautifully developed, fast-paced story. Her readers continue to travel in their minds, breathing in the life of Arnold and Barbara long after the last word has been read.

Barbara Outland Baker is an English Professor at Moorpark College in Southern California, as well as a freelance writer and author. She earned her B.A. in English from San Diego State University and her Secondary Credential and M.A. from California State University, Los Angeles. Barbara has written a speed reading textbook, Reading! The Success Formula, as well as co-authored Master Readingin collaboration with UCLA and R.E.A.D. She has written numerouspublished articles, covering subjects, such as tole painting, guidedimagery, and Jack LaLanne's healthful philosophy. With her 2003manuscript having captured the media's attention, Barbara enjoyedexposure through talk radio, print interviews, live television, andbiography shows, such as Inside Edition and E-True Hollywood. During her stint at San Diego State,this college coed met a man who invited her into his realm. At twenty-one, Barbara accepted his invitation to enter into the world ofbodybuilding to become the woman by Arnold Schwarzenegger's side. During his bodybuilding ascent and Hollywoodentrée, she knew this icon like no person could. The author spent sixyears dating and living with Mr. Olympia and another six writing hertale. She has produced an original, intimate, provocative true story. Although few compare to Arnold in evoking readers' interest, Barbara also has become an engaging character, one worth getting to know. Retiringfrom education in 2007, Barbara is enjoying the transition fromteaching writing to producing writing. She now resides in two states,as professor in Southern California and as looming retiree in Northern Dallas. She and her husband John now officially reside in McKinney, Texas, having exchanged the Golden Poppy for the Yellow Rose. They are joined by a California exodus of family members who have chosen to make the Lone Star State their next round in life's extraordinary journey.