Gymnast's Memoir Books

[Big_rock_show]

Kerri's book is done! Should I start Chalked Up next weekend or after Worlds?

I absolutely love your book summaries and will love whatever you decide to do next, whenever you decide to do it!

 

[JDB]

Kerri's book is done! Should I start Chalked Up next weekend or after Worlds?

I recommend waiting after worlds to start reading. I read it in 2008 and it was an emotionally grim book. With what we know now, it's an even grimmer read. Reading it will conflict with your experience watching worlds.

 

[QuietColours]

We're a good way through Chalked Up. What would people like to see next?

Edit: Needs to be available in the US, preferably in hard copy

 

[Passion]

Dominique Moceanu's "Off Balance" had some drama in it.

 

[RichardL]

Dominique Moceanu's "Off Balance" had some drama in it.

I have a chapter about that book in my own book that I'm currently writing. So insane

 

[phoenix7]

I have a chapter about that book in my own book that I'm currently writing. So insane

What is your book about?

 

[RichardL]

What is your book about?

It's a personal book about my childhood gymnastics fandom through the lens of queerness (closeted gay boy watching girls struggle to be perfect, pushing their bodies to the limit while I didn't trust my own) and the sexual abuse scandal, when I learned how much they were enduring that I never could've known at the time. Among other things, I explore testimonies from gymnasts looking back at their careers (in the form of memoir, but also the actual testimonies at the Nassar hearings) as they reexamine childhood experiences from the vantage point of adulthood. My own experience of sexual abuse plays a part too, in terms of showing how my obsession with watching these girls was more complicated than I would've ever realized.

 

[RAFIKI]

That sounds fascinating and I expect it’s cathartic to write.

 

[QuietColours]

As an experiment and a study in contrasts, I think I'm going to try to do Dominique's 1996 and 2013 autobiographies simultaneously. We'll see how it works out!

 

[RAFIKI]

Intriging!

 

[RedBirdie]

Ooooh

 

[rlayt]

That will be interesting!

 

[KristyJ]

I have both on my bookshelf, so I will join you in this extreme contrast

 

[IratePanda]

I haven't read either book, so I'm very excited.

 

[hmmmm]

We're a good way through Chalked Up. What would people like to see next?

Edit: Needs to be available in the US, preferably in hard copy

There are what I assume to be pirated pdf versions of most of the books mentioned.

 

[Big_rock_show]

As an experiment and a study in contrasts, I think I'm going to try to do Dominique's 1996 and 2013 autobiographies simultaneously. We'll see how it works out!

YESSSSS!!!

 

[RichardL]

If I recall correctly, the 1996 book was just a play-by-play of her winning the 1995 National AA title, like literally a long description of each routine lol. But I could be misremembering.

 

[QuietColours]

If I recall correctly, the 1996 book was just a play-by-play of her winning the 1995 National AA title, like literally a long description of each routine lol. But I could be misremembering.

It'll be a short set of summaries, then! The library listing says the whole book is only 112 pages, and I've got some guesses on font size.

I won't complain too much if it's quite light--at Chapter 25, I'm at 52 pages for the Chalked Up summary. I'm a little worried about not being able to post as regularly with two books, but the 1996 sound fluffy enough to make it feasible

 

[crdubb17]

How many other good memoirs are out there? I feel like Aly’s was solid and had a good amount of substance. I’m actually about to revisit Dominique’s. It was really heavy to read back in 2012 because so much of the abuse seemed unimaginable at the time!