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bargainsleuth's review against another edition
3.0
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It’s another week of Olympics coverage here on Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews, and today’s book is from Shannon Miller, who, before Simone Biles came along, was the most decorated American gymnast in history. She was competed in two Olympics and walked away with a lot of hardware. It’s Not About Perfect: Competing for My Country and Fighting for My Life also tells the story of Shannon’s battle with Cancer at a young age.
I read this book when it first came out several years ago and gave it a rather low rating. Since I’m focusing on the Olympics on the blog while Tokyo 2020 is going on, I wondered why I had rated it so low. Audible included the book with my membership so I decided to listen to the book. I definitely think it’s better than I originally thought all those years ago.
Shannon relates her gymnastics career in great detail for the first 2/3 of the book. She has a fantastic memory, or relied on journals, to remember every major competition, every injury, every mistake, and every medal she won. The problem I had was that she was rather clinical with her recitations of these facts. There wasn’t a lot of introspection or dwelling on her feelings about things. It’s just put out there with no emotion. That’s not to say that racking up all those medals wasn’t interesting, but I wanted more. I get it, maybe she wanted to maintain some privacy, but then, why write a book?
Much time was spent on the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where Miller came out of nowhere to upset U.S. favorite Kim Zemeskal and every other gymnast with five medals at those games. And then, of course, Shannon discusses her time as part of the Magnificent Seven gymnasts who won team gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. I had forgotten that in 2000., Miller had even made a half-hearted attempt to make the United States Olympic team heading to Sydney. But age and injuries had taken their toll and she took a tumble on the vault at the Olympic trials and decided to withdraw.
Shannon spends little time discussing her first marriage. In fact, if you’re not paying attention closely, you may miss it entirely. Then Miller walks us through her college and law school career, as well as meeting her second husband, John, ultimately marrying him in 2008.
Shannon was diagnosed with germ cell ovarian cancer in 2011, a month after doctors removed a cyst from one of her ovaries. She spent some time discussing how, as many young moms do, she had stopped paying attention to her body and it’s cues. It’s a miracle the doctors caught the cancer when they did, because statistics show that 50% of those diagnosed with ovarian cancer die from the disease. She went through three cycles of chemo and was declared cancer-free a year later.
Miller spends the last part of her book discussing her current businesses, and the way it’s written makes it feel more like a marketing book than a memoir. My guess is that’s why I graded the book so low when I originally read it. Combatting childhood obesity is a good cause, and it’s something Shannon has dedicated her philanthropic pursuits to.
It’s another week of Olympics coverage here on Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews, and today’s book is from Shannon Miller, who, before Simone Biles came along, was the most decorated American gymnast in history. She was competed in two Olympics and walked away with a lot of hardware. It’s Not About Perfect: Competing for My Country and Fighting for My Life also tells the story of Shannon’s battle with Cancer at a young age.
I read this book when it first came out several years ago and gave it a rather low rating. Since I’m focusing on the Olympics on the blog while Tokyo 2020 is going on, I wondered why I had rated it so low. Audible included the book with my membership so I decided to listen to the book. I definitely think it’s better than I originally thought all those years ago.
Shannon relates her gymnastics career in great detail for the first 2/3 of the book. She has a fantastic memory, or relied on journals, to remember every major competition, every injury, every mistake, and every medal she won. The problem I had was that she was rather clinical with her recitations of these facts. There wasn’t a lot of introspection or dwelling on her feelings about things. It’s just put out there with no emotion. That’s not to say that racking up all those medals wasn’t interesting, but I wanted more. I get it, maybe she wanted to maintain some privacy, but then, why write a book?
Much time was spent on the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where Miller came out of nowhere to upset U.S. favorite Kim Zemeskal and every other gymnast with five medals at those games. And then, of course, Shannon discusses her time as part of the Magnificent Seven gymnasts who won team gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. I had forgotten that in 2000., Miller had even made a half-hearted attempt to make the United States Olympic team heading to Sydney. But age and injuries had taken their toll and she took a tumble on the vault at the Olympic trials and decided to withdraw.
Shannon spends little time discussing her first marriage. In fact, if you’re not paying attention closely, you may miss it entirely. Then Miller walks us through her college and law school career, as well as meeting her second husband, John, ultimately marrying him in 2008.
Shannon was diagnosed with germ cell ovarian cancer in 2011, a month after doctors removed a cyst from one of her ovaries. She spent some time discussing how, as many young moms do, she had stopped paying attention to her body and it’s cues. It’s a miracle the doctors caught the cancer when they did, because statistics show that 50% of those diagnosed with ovarian cancer die from the disease. She went through three cycles of chemo and was declared cancer-free a year later.
Miller spends the last part of her book discussing her current businesses, and the way it’s written makes it feel more like a marketing book than a memoir. My guess is that’s why I graded the book so low when I originally read it. Combatting childhood obesity is a good cause, and it’s something Shannon has dedicated her philanthropic pursuits to.
sunshine169's review against another edition
4.0
As other reviews have said this is definitely an all out positive book that doesn't delve too deeply into Shannon's feelings. However, she is and always will be my favorite gymnast and I enjoyed her career recap immensely. She is most certainly a strong willed woman that never lets anyone tell her she cannot accomplish her goals. I admire that!
justicepirate's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
I grew up an Olympic junkie, and remember watching Shannon Miller in the Olympics she participated in during the Barcelona and Atlanta Olympic games. I don't remember much about who she really was outside of watching her skills, so it was nice to hear what her sweet childhood was like and the things she endured through having cancer. It was an enjoyable story and now I need to re watch old clips.
I grew up an Olympic junkie, and remember watching Shannon Miller in the Olympics she participated in during the Barcelona and Atlanta Olympic games. I don't remember much about who she really was outside of watching her skills, so it was nice to hear what her sweet childhood was like and the things she endured through having cancer. It was an enjoyable story and now I need to re watch old clips.
vmars314's review against another edition
3.0
3.5⭐
The first 3/4 of the book was about her gymnastics career and the last 1/4 was about her adult life and cancer diagnosis. I enjoyed hearing about her life, especially the gymnastics stuff, but everything seemed to be told/viewed through rose-colored glasses. She says she had a great relationship with her coach Steve Nunno, but that's hard to believe in today's climate (and because many others have talked about him being verbally/mentally abusive). Maybe she wasn't ready to talk about it when she wrote this, or maybe they really did have a good relationship.
The first 3/4 of the book was about her gymnastics career and the last 1/4 was about her adult life and cancer diagnosis. I enjoyed hearing about her life, especially the gymnastics stuff, but everything seemed to be told/viewed through rose-colored glasses. She says she had a great relationship with her coach Steve Nunno, but that's hard to believe in today's climate (and because many others have talked about him being verbally/mentally abusive). Maybe she wasn't ready to talk about it when she wrote this, or maybe they really did have a good relationship.
mokey4's review against another edition
2.0
I really want to give this 2.5 stars.
I admire Shannon Miller, and I've followed her gymnastics career. It's fun to read about her life in gymnastics, and for that I give the book 4 stars.
But if she didn't want to write anything real about her personal life, she should have just left that part out. I get the feeling that she hasn't really examined her own feelings about her experiences that thoroughly, so it's hard for readers to learn from them. Plus it's not actually that inspiring to read a bunch of "this happened, that happened, it was terrifying, I was careful about diet and exercise, yada yada." I *know* there's more to it than that, and Shannon's not spilling, either because she herself hasn't thought too deeply about it (a crime, a shame!) or because she wants to maintain her privacy. If it's the latter, that's fine, but don't write a memoir if you're not going to tell us what you're really thinking. Also I find that when she writes about her company it sounds like marketing material. So for that part of the book, I give 1 star.
Overall, still a decent read if you're a gymnastics fan.
I admire Shannon Miller, and I've followed her gymnastics career. It's fun to read about her life in gymnastics, and for that I give the book 4 stars.
But if she didn't want to write anything real about her personal life, she should have just left that part out. I get the feeling that she hasn't really examined her own feelings about her experiences that thoroughly, so it's hard for readers to learn from them. Plus it's not actually that inspiring to read a bunch of "this happened, that happened, it was terrifying, I was careful about diet and exercise, yada yada." I *know* there's more to it than that, and Shannon's not spilling, either because she herself hasn't thought too deeply about it (a crime, a shame!) or because she wants to maintain her privacy. If it's the latter, that's fine, but don't write a memoir if you're not going to tell us what you're really thinking. Also I find that when she writes about her company it sounds like marketing material. So for that part of the book, I give 1 star.
Overall, still a decent read if you're a gymnastics fan.
emsterino19's review against another edition
5.0
Shannon Miller's is an excellent story!
I had a little bit of a difficult time toward the beginning, as I don't know really anything about gymnastics, and there were a lot of terms I didn't understand. However, I was fascinated with her story and encouraged by her determination. Shannon Miller fell down and got back up again over and over and over.
I highly recommend this book.
I received a copy of this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
I had a little bit of a difficult time toward the beginning, as I don't know really anything about gymnastics, and there were a lot of terms I didn't understand. However, I was fascinated with her story and encouraged by her determination. Shannon Miller fell down and got back up again over and over and over.
I highly recommend this book.
I received a copy of this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
disabledreamer's review against another edition
4.0
Its fine. Nothing special,i feel like each era was two chapters too long and the book would have more impact if it was winnowed down.
kmdahlgran's review against another edition
4.0
I remember watching Shannon Miller compete in the Olympics. I really enjoyed reading about her experience with gymnastics and her life after, including her battle with ovarian cancer. She truly is an inspirational woman.
elisehedlund's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! It was a real eye-opener for me. I had always loved gymnastics, and to know all about Shannon Miller's life was incredible.
Some people might find this book boring. I could understand how the terms could get less interesting, but I was captivated, knowing about gymnastics myself.
The funny thing is, I never saw Shannon compete in the Olympics. I wasn't even alive at the tie of either. Did that stop me fro completely enjoying this book? No! I felt like I was standing, cheering, on the sidelines as she competed. Her success was my success, her falls were my falls. But I can't say failures. She always picked herself back up, through gymnastics, through cancer. I look up to her so much, her fears, faults, and all the amazing talents she has. I loved this book, but if you don't agree, or even if you do, please reply, because I would love to hear your opinion too.
Some people might find this book boring. I could understand how the terms could get less interesting, but I was captivated, knowing about gymnastics myself.
The funny thing is, I never saw Shannon compete in the Olympics. I wasn't even alive at the tie of either. Did that stop me fro completely enjoying this book? No! I felt like I was standing, cheering, on the sidelines as she competed. Her success was my success, her falls were my falls. But I can't say failures. She always picked herself back up, through gymnastics, through cancer. I look up to her so much, her fears, faults, and all the amazing talents she has. I loved this book, but if you don't agree, or even if you do, please reply, because I would love to hear your opinion too.