Rating: 4 out of 5

I didn’t really know much about Lauren Fleshman before reading this. I liked how she told her story interspersing personal history with a wider look at what else was going on at the time - all through the lens of female athletes. Predictably I frequently found it frustrating and got cross at the treatment and accuse female athletes face.

I appreciated her honesty accepting when she’d got it wrong, when she’d shown poor judgement. I also appreciated her reflections on how she could make a difference.

I wasn’t hooked on this book. I didn’t think about getting back to it every waking moment. But it was solid and full of research. I particularly appreciated the inclusion of the “Sources and resources” chapter at the end and have added a couple of those to my reading list.

Some quotes I saved:

“Today women make up 40 percent of the athletes in the United States but receive only 4 percent of the sports coverage, about the same as it was thirty years ago. The front page of the sports section is more likely to feature a male sports fan than a professional female athlete.”

“A culture of compliance leads to disassociation from yourself, from your body’s signals of hunger, fatigue, and pain. Today, when I see that highlight video of the 1996 USA gymnastics team, I see Kerri’s incredible determination and skill, but I also see my friends and peers and countless women from lots of different sports who’ve shared their stories with me. I see the years of hard work required for reintegration of the self, relearning your body’s hungry and full cues, relearning to trust yourself when your body says slow down or stop, relearning to trust yourself”

Originally posted to my Goodreads account