Fighting My Way Back to Freedom: How I Escaped from a Cult and Rebuilt My Identity

This was on April 28, 2019. Recently, while scrolling through Instagram, searching for beautiful #balayage hair color, we happened on some gorgeous work by de la Torre. Also, on her page were pictures of her in a wheelchair or undergoing physical therapy, accompanied by revealing captions that captured her road back from an accident that has paralyzed her body but not her spirit.

This particular struggle ties into Affleck's new film, "The Way Back," which opens on March 6. The project is co-written and directed by Gavin O'Connor, who worked with Affleck on the surprise hit, "The Accountant," back in 2016. Affleck plays Jack Cunningham, a former high school basketball star who makes a series of bad choices, which torments his life and destroys his family. A chance to coach his old team presents the opportunity for redemption for Jack, but will he want it enough to rehab the rest of his life?

Fighting my way back

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Films like "The Way Back" are where Affleck belongs. Roles that force him to pull from his own life struggles, like a cook sweating over that master recipe in the kitchen, with the passion and true grit bleeding into the dish. You can see Affleck trying to figure something out in the trailers for the movie, pushing his way back to the top. If Affleck wasn't talented, he wouldn't have gotten off the canvas after the JLO debacle. Talent keeps you alive in this make-believe game that Hollywood insists on playing. If you have it, you have a chance.

Judging by the interview and the upcoming work, Affleck is fighting his way back this time with honesty. He's facing his past, and instead of it tearing down everything in his life, he's using it to rebuild his future.

I didn't play well at the beginning of the year. And because of the injury, I missed the clay-court season, in which I can always score quite a few points. I've lost all of them from last year. So the timing was really bitter. But I also noticed that I needed the break a bit. But I'm happy to come back. Of course it's stupid to see when you slip down the rankings like that. You can't hide that so easily. But I will do everything to fight my way back up the field.

You play shorter rallies on grass, which is actually quite good for beginners. On grass it is difficult to find the return at the beginning and to move properly on the ground. Sometimes the ball slips through - that's a completely different game. I think if I had entered the French Open after everyone else had already played on clay for the weeks before, it would have been much more difficult for me. So maybe it was quite fitting to come back to grass now.

I want to get back in the top 100. I want to do that by the end of the year. It's now about fighting my way back - also to the Davis Cup team. Because of course I want to be there in Hamburg. It's awesome that we brought it to Germany. We qualified as a team, we get along really well and always have a great time at Davis Cup.

The Instagram video he shared in late October documenting his recovery, showed the star moving from walker to treadmill thanks to a series of stability exercises, physical therapy treatments and the help of an oft-present back brace.

Standing behind him is a crew of cheerleaders, including his wife of three years, his daughter Heaven, 14, and his sons Hendrix, 12, and nearly 2-year-old Kenzo. "He has had family and friends around him throughout his recovery," shared the source. "They are all amazed at how well he is doing and how much progress he has made. He is working very hard to get back to 100 percent."

In some ways he does appear fully recharged, going out to play poker with Jay-Z and getting back on the road with another vintage ride, his 1969 Camaro. And though his attorney said the always hustling multi-hyphenate "doesn't anticipate going back to work full time" until 2020, he has resumed some obligations, returning to his SiriusXM radio show Laugh Out Loud yesterday and keeping his eye trained on the promotional schedule for next month's Jumanji: The Next Level.

She buckled her daughter into a car seat that was secured onto the back seat, placing the basket filled with folded laundry beside her. The pair made their way to Route 422, about a five- or 10-minute drive, and got on the highway.

Plot: Four teenagers with big dreams become young adults who have settled for lower expectations due to varying circumstances. They each try to find their way back to their passions as their relationships further develop.

At one point in time, Luke Donald was on top of the golf world. In 2011, he became just the second man in history to reach the top spot in the world rankings despite never winning a major championship, joining fellow countryman Lee Westwood. That same year, he became the first player to ever top the money list on both the PGA Tour and European Tour, a feat since duplicated by current world number one Rory McIlroy.\n\n\n\nLuke Donald last held the top spot in the rankings in 2012. Since then, he\u2019s dealt with a number of injuries and has struggled to even keep his status, having to rely on exemptions just to play. Following a missed cut at the Sony Open in January 2019, Donald fell to 652nd in the rankings and then dropped to 919th when a lingering injury forced him out of action. But in the 15 months since that low point, he\u2019s jumped up 550 spots and wants to prove that he\u2019s still got something left in the tank.\n\n\n\nLuke Donald rises to No. 1\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBorn in England, Luke Donald chose to play his college golf in the United States, enrolling at Northwestern in 1997. Following a stellar career with the Wildcats, a career in which he won an NCAA championship by breaking Tiger Woods\u2018 scoring record, Donald turned pro in 2001 and won his first PGA Tour event in 2002. In 2004, he won two events on the European Tour, made his Ryder Cup debut, and also won the WGC-World Cup with Paul Casey. He finished the year ranked 25th in the world. \n\n\n\nIn April 2005, Donald finished third at The Masters and vaulted to 13th in the world. In 2006, he won his second PGA Tour event and reached the top 10 in the world for the first time, also going 3-0 in the Ryder Cup. He sustained a wrist injury in 2008 that hindered his career for a stretch but he fought back and won for the first time in four years in 2010 at the Madrid Masters. It was then that Luke Donald really turned it on. \n\n\n\n2011 was one of the most underrated years a player has ever had. Despite not winning a major, Donald reached the top spot in the world with some of the most consistent play in history. He won three tournaments, including the WGC-Match Play, finished second three times, finished third three times, and finished in the top 10 in 20 of the 27 events in which he played. \n\n\n\nIn 2012, he lost his number one ranking for the final time when Rory McIlroy overtook him at the top after winning his second straight major at the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. Between 2011 and 2012, Luke Donald spent 56 weeks at No. 1. \n\n\n\nThe fall to No. 919\n\n\n\n\nDonald is currently ranked No. 919 in the Official World Golf Ranking, his lowest position since September 1, 2001 (#1133).\u2014 PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) March 22, 2019\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn November 2013, Luke Donald won the Dunlop Phoenix Championship on the Japan Tour, which remains his last career win. He had fallen out of the top 10 earlier in the year and finished the year ranked 16th. At the end of 2014, he was ranked 32nd. In 2015, he actually had to go through sectional qualifying just to play the U.S. Open and finished the year ranked 72nd. In 2016, he failed to qualify for The Masters for the first time since 2004 and hasn\u2019t played at Augusta since. He finished the season out of the top 75, ranked 77th. In 2017, he fell out of the top 100 after missing the final two months of the year after being rushed to the hospital with chest pains during the first round of the RSM Classic. \n\n\n\nUpon his return in 2018, Luke Donald missed the cut in six of eight tournaments. Herniated discs then forced him to miss six months of action and he had to rely on a medical exemption just to play on the PGA Tour in 2019. The aforementioned missed cut at the Sony Open in early 2019 dropped him to 652nd in the world. Forced to miss another two months due to the lingering back pain, Donald dropped all the way down to 919th, his lowest ranking since his first year as a pro.\n\n\n\nLuke Donald is fighting his way back\n\n\n\nLuke Donald Streeter Lecka\/Getty Images\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\tRelated\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWhy Rory McIlroy Believes Playing The Masters in November Will Help Him Complete the Career Grand Slam\t\t\n\t\n\nIn his first tournament back in 2019, Luke Donald tied for ninth at the Valspar Championship, his first top-10 finish on the PGA Tour in two years. In June, he made his first cut at a major championship since 2016 at the U.S. Open. In September, he carded a top-10 at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the European Tour. \n\n\n\nNo, he\u2019s not the player he once was and he\u2019s fully aware of that. But that doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s ready to quit. He played three events in 2020 before COVID-19 shut down the golf world, getting better in every tournament. After missing the cut in Phoenix, he made the weekend and tied for 55th at Pebble Beach. Three weeks later, he tied for 11th at the Honda Classic. \n\n\n\nLuke Donald\u2019s medical exemption ended in February. He\u2019s now playing on a career earnings exemption, one of two exemptions he had left to use. Donald has made more than $36.4 million on the PGA Tour, good for 24th on the all-time list. Any player in the top 25 on the all-time money list can use a special, one-time exemption to maintain status, which is what he\u2019s using now. But there\u2019s also an additional exemption for players in the top 50 on the all-time list. It\u2019s not an either-or situation and if Donald can\u2019t get his status back with a win or by finishing in the top 125 on the FedEx Cup points list (he\u2019s currently 174th), he can use the top-50 exemption next season. \n\n\n\nLuke Donald, now 42 years old, is in the field this week at the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town, a tournament where he\u2019s had great success in the past, finishing as the runner-up five times. Donald is now ranked 369th in the world, a far cry from No. 1 but up 550 spots from where he was 15 months ago. Maybe he wins again someday and maybe he doesn\u2019t. Either way, he\u2019s doing just fine. Again, he\u2019s won more than $36.4 million in his career and has three beautiful daughters with his wife, Diane, whom he met at Northwestern. \n\n\n\nWhether he ever wins again or not, Luke Donald is still out here fighting to compete in a sport he once dominated. And you certainly have to respect that. \n\n\n\n*All ranking courtesy of Official World Golf Ranking \n","ptime":"2020-06-17T22:27:33","custom_date":"","custom_datedesc":"","author":"name":"Luke Norris","slug":"luke-norris","url":"https:\/\/www.sportscasting.com\/author\/luke-norris\/","twitter_link":"https:\/\/twitter.com\/THElukenorris","facebook_link":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/thelukenorrisexperience","linkedin_link":"https:\/\/linkedin.com\/in\/thelukenorris","instagram_link":null,"comment_count":0,"review_schema":" Streeter Lecka\\\/Getty Images Related Why Rory McIlroy Believes Playing The Masters in November Will Help Him Complete the Career Grand Slam In his first tournament back in 2019, Luke Donald tied for ninth at the Valspar Championship, his first top-10 finish on the PGA Tour in two years. In June, he made his first cut at a major championship since 2016 at the U.S. Open. In September, he carded a top-10 at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the European Tour. No, he\\u2019s not the player he once was and he\\u2019s fully aware of that. But that doesn\\u2019t mean he\\u2019s ready to quit. He played three events in 2020 before COVID-19 shut down the golf world, getting better in every tournament. After missing the cut in Phoenix, he made the weekend and tied for 55th at Pebble Beach. Three weeks later, he tied for 11th at the Honda Classic. Luke Donald\\u2019s medical exemption ended in February. He\\u2019s now playing on a career earnings exemption, one of two exemptions he had left to use. Donald has made more than $36.4 million on the PGA Tour, good for 24th on the all-time list. Any player in the top 25 on the all-time money list can use a special, one-time exemption to maintain status, which is what he\\u2019s using now. But there\\u2019s also an additional exemption for players in the top 50 on the all-time list. It\\u2019s not an either-or situation and if Donald can\\u2019t get his status back with a win or by finishing in the top 125 on the FedEx Cup points list (he\\u2019s currently 174th), he can use the top-50 exemption next season. Luke Donald, now 42 years old, is in the field this week at the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town, a tournament where he\\u2019s had great success in the past, finishing as the runner-up five times. Donald is now ranked 369th in the world, a far cry from No. 1 but up 550 spots from where he was 15 months ago. Maybe he wins again someday and maybe he doesn\\u2019t. Either way, he\\u2019s doing just fine. Again, he\\u2019s won more than $36.4 million in his career and has three beautiful daughters with his wife, Diane, whom he met at Northwestern. Whether he ever wins again or not, Luke Donald is still out here fighting to compete in a sport he once dominated. And you certainly have to respect that. *All ranking courtesy of Official World Golf Ranking\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-17 22:27:33\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-06-17 22:27:35\",\"author\":\"@type\":\"Person\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sportscasting.com\\\/author\\\/luke-norris\\\/\",\"name\":\"luke-norris\",\"publisher\":\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"Sportscasting ,\"keywords\":[\"golf\",\"Golfers\",\"PGA\"],\"image\":\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sportscasting.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/Luke-Donald.jpg?w=1024\",\"height\":682,\"width\":1024,\"itemListElement\":[\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"name\":\"Luke Donald\",\"image\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sportscasting.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/Luke-Donald.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.sportscasting.com\\\/former-world-no-1-luke-donald-once-dropped-to-919th-in-the-rankings-but-is-fighting-his-way-back\\\/#luke-donald\"]"},"reco_next_pid":1163224};img#wpstatsdisplay:none "@context": " ", "@type": "Blog", "mainEntityOfPage": "@type": "WebPage", "@id": " -world-no-1-luke-donald-once-dropped-to-919th-in-the-rankings-but-is-fighting-his-way-back/" , "headline": "Former World No. 1 Luke Donald Once Dropped to 919th in the Rankings But is Fighting His Way Back", "datePublished": "2020-06-17T22:27:33-0400", "dateModified": "2020-06-17T22:27:35-0400", "author": "@type": "Person", "name": "Luke Norris", "jobTitle": "Senior Writer, Programmer", "url": " -norris/" , "publisher": "@type": "Organization", "name": "Sportscasting , "description": "A look at the career of Luke Donald, the former top-ranked golfer in the world that once topped the money list on the PGA and European Tour.", "image": "@type": "ImageObject", "url": " -content/uploads/2020/06/Luke-Donald.jpg", "width": 1024, "height": 682 if (rt_ud === undefined) var rt_ud = ;if (rt_sd === undefined) var rt_sd = ;if (rt_pd === undefined) var rt_pd = ;var rtHtml = document.getElementsByTagName('html')[0];dataLayer = ['is_single': 1,'category': rtcd.vertical,'date_published': rtcd.date_published,'author': rtcd.author,'post_id':rtcd.post_id,'tags': rtcd.tags,'visitor_type': rt_ud.visitor_type,'entrance_vertical': rt_sd.entrance_vertical,'workflow_analysis':rtcd.workflow_analysis,'prev_page_path': '(entrance)','ismobile.js': rtHtml.getAttribute("data-is_mobilejs") == 'true' ? 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