Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith Hardcover – Bargain Price, November 27, 2012

Gabrielle Douglas tells her story of Olympic success through the lens of faith, commitment, acceptance, and forgiveness. She takes us on her journey both as an Olympian and as a young girl reconciling the truths of her life. Gabrielle was raised by a strong, hard working single mom who taught her the values that carried her to Olympic gold. From the first time this young gymnast stepped on the mat, her coaches saw in her a fiery spark and a natural talent. Gabrielle and her mother took that raw talent and nurtured it, through great sacrifices from the entire family, in order to reach the top of her sport. Never afraid to succeed, the family even agreed to a two year separation so that Gabrielle could train with the coach that would ultimately help her reach her goal.Gabrielle tells her story of gymnastics greatness, but she also parallels it with the story of her family, of her faith in God and her religious journey, and her path to forgiving her absent father. She speaks from the heart, sharing childhood memories good and bad. Her personality really shines through in her writing, as does her work ethic and her love for her family. She counts her blessings and she is appreciative of them. Gabrielle Douglas is an amazing athlete and an inspiring young woman.

As an older woman, Gabrielle Douglas story inspires and deeply touches me. I remember watching her with such rapt attention and admiration during the summer Olympics and reminiscing how nearly 20 years earlier, I watched Dominique Dawes with the same feelings. Amazing! Nearly two years later, I tune in to watch the Lifetime biopic and my eyes start to tear up as before the opening. Teary-eyed and proud, I made it through the biopic. And now, with her memoir, I am awarded the opportunity to dive deeper into her story. Fortunately, I read her memoir on my Kindle so my tears did not cause any damage. This is an truly inspirational story. It saddens me that young minority women have to endure any form of racism but as I think about it the Civil Rights Movement occurred in 1960s after 200 years of slavery and a systemized form of oppression. A lot of prejudice and racial bias is still buried deep. Alas, what does not kill you makes you stronger. I am glad that Gabrielle is receiving all the accolades as it is well deserved. I hope her story continues to inspire minority girls to enroll in gymnastics and I hope they pay special attention on the backlash Gabby receives and how well she handles it.

My daughters are into rhythmic gymnastics. This is a great book to read together with family (or listen to the audio). It stresses the supreme importance of faith, family, and hard work. I can't think of a better lesson for kids. Very inspirational.

Gabby Douglas was recently named Associated Press's Female Athlete of the Year. In this novel, Douglas reveals her story of discovering gymnastics and eventually training for the Olympics. Aside from them, readers also get a look into her family life. As a single mother, Douglas's mother works hard to support her daughter's dream, financially and mentally. Also included is a brief look at Gabby's father, who has been absent for much of her life.This is an inspirational novel. Everyone saw Gabby's performance at the Olympics, but in this novel, readers get a glimpse of the real Gabby Douglas: an American teenager who happens to enjoy gymnastics. One thing that I enjoyed about this novel was that it sounds like a teenager wrote it. Normally, this would usually be a bad thing, but in this case, it's not. After all, Gabby Douglas is a teenager, and it made the novel much more personal.I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys the Olympics, gymnastics, or just loves a great story!

This book is a story of triumph over adversity, and how even a little girl in a disadvantaged home can have a big dream come true. Gabrielle is mature far beyond her years (she had to be), and still she is a little girl with big dreams and a love for fun. The book just keeps surprising as she faces one set-back after another. Just when it looks like she can't miss--her own problem with home sickness nearly does her in. She has a wonderful support team that helps her pull through. Her mother and her siblings just keeps giving her the inspiration to reach higher and higher. It seems like a novel, and yet it is real-life, and big dreams do come true. This book will inspire a lot of little girls to "go for the gold". And, if they have Gabrielle's faith...they can.

My husband bought this book for our daughter for Christmas. Our daughter has done competitive gymnastics since age 6 and is now 11 years old. A lot of hours, intense training and effort goes into this sport and the fact that our daughter misses out on a lot of things that other kids her age gets to do comes up sometimes. This book is a great read and realization for anyone considering the sport or currently in gymnastics that will open the eyes to the fact that the road to success is not always easy, but as the great Napoleon Hill said, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

I think she is a great leader to the next generation of gymnasts. It's not an easy sport. Having people to look up to is a big deal. Gymnastics hold some of my BEST childhood memories and a few of the most crazy ones too. It's more of a mentally-tough spiritual path than just a sport. She has put a little of the meaningfulness inside the secret-planet sort-of world of a tumbler into words anyone can journey there with.

My daughter loved this book. She watched the movie before reading this and the book has a little more detail than the movie (she says).

True story

Christmas money gift for my daughter aged 11 who loved it

Bought as a gift

Fast delivery. Happy with purchase.

Granddaughter loved this book quite an inspirational true story for any young person