THIS is part three of the Observer's 10-part serialisation of Usain Bolt: My Story 9.58 - Being the World's Fastest Man, chronicling the life of triple Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt, from his early primary school days to the present time.

Bolt speaks from the heart in this revealing autobiography. From his experiences as a schoolboy athlete and his struggles with injuries; to his family life and performances at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2009 World Championships in Berlin, he recounts and shares, in his customary easy-going and candid style, his hopes and his regrets, and his plans for the future.

Inspiring and entertaining, this easy to read book at over 280 pages is in full colour and contains never-before-seen photographs of Bolt at work and at play. Testimonials from those who have had a major influence in the young athlete's life give the book a truly authentic voice. Enjoy:

Whenever I get stressed by life, Trelawny, the parish where I was born, is where I return. It's quiet, with a slower pace to life. I can chill, and nobody bothers me. In Kingston where I live because of my training demands, people are always calling up and coming to see me. That's good, but sometimes you need to get away from it all. In Trelawny, I can sit on the verandah outside mom and dad's house, relax and clear my mind. People walk past and say 'hi' but that's it, man. They've known me since I was a youngster, so seeing me is no big deal.

I'm a normal human being who can get stressed out once in a while, not about track and field, which never worries me, but personal things like girls, business and stuff that needs organising. Back home I'll stay at mom and dad's in Coxeath near Sherwood Content, go around to Aunty Lilly's, visit my grandmother, and meet up with the guys who were my friends from way back when we played cricket together on the road outside our front door...

I'm still in touch with many of my old teachers from my very first school, Peidmont Basic school, as well as Waldensia Primary and William Knibb High School. I started basic School when I was two, and one of the teachers, Mrs. Sheron Seivwright, is still there. My Principal at Waldensia, Miss Mamrie Flash, who always looked out for me, helps out there, even though she has retired. My sports coach at William Knibb, Miss Lorna Thorpe, who was like a second mother, is still going strong too. I owe so much to all of them for bringing me up in the right way.

The drive home to Coxeath takes you off the main highway and away into the country along a winding single-track road... The approach to home takes me past Piedmont and Waldensia and the little athletics track where it all started for me. It's a tight, 250m, not quite properly proportioned oval with an 80m flat track and that two-foot drop towards the finish line...

As a child I was good at all sports, especially running, cricket and football. I liked being a goalkeeper and got loads of cuts and bruises from diving around on the stones in the g**** making saves. Cricket was the big sport in primary school. I was a fast bowler as well as a number three batsman. We were too young to use a proper cricket bat, but I was lethal with a plastic one and by grade six had learned to swing it through the air; which takes some doing.

I was a bit of a prankster in school and would find myself being disciplined a few times...We actually had a lot of fun in school, like in grade five with Miss Roberts, who had false teeth which were always falling out. Once we went to a nearby sugar factory on a class field trip, and when we were giving her trouble she screamed so loudly that her teeth shot out of her mouth and fell down to the bottom of this hill. We couldn't stop laughing.

9.58 - Being the World's Fastest Man by Usain Bolt, published by Ian Randle Publishers, price J$2,000/US$22.95.