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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
fast-paced
emotional
informative
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
⭐⭐⭐
(As always, this rating is for writing/narration style, not for content).
I am a huge Olympics stan. Prior to getting more into watching regular sports, I used to say that I only watched the Olympics. Specifically gymnastics and diving during the summer and figure skating during the winter. I can't recall when I became a Nathan Chen fan but I remember when I saw an Asian American, specifically a Chinese American making waves in a sport that is usually dominated by Russians or the Japanese, I became an instant fan. So naturally when I was browsing the signed books section on B&N.com and saw signed copies of Nathan’s memoir for sale, of course I bought it lol. I'll probably have zero chance in meeting him so this is a good consolation prize lol. I actually had to order this and ship it to a friend's house in California because they wouldn't ship to Hawaii.
I've been listening to his memoir on and off ever since Spotify added audiobooks to their platform and finally finished it the other day. Let me start by saying, if English is not your first language, I would recommend reading this instead of listening because Nathan speaks incredibly fast and he does that California valley twang.
Compared to the other memoirs I've listened to, this memoir was on the okay scale for me, nothing to write home about if I'm being honest. It was very formulaic and the writing was very much “this happened so I did this” sort of style.
If you're looking for the tea about what happened at the Beijing Olympics regarding the Russian doping scandal, you will not get that in this book. This was very much the journey of Nathan's life and the why's and how's he started skating. It was almost a love letter to his mother as well as she was his biggest supporter throughout it all.
Although this was just okay for me, I will continue to be a Nathan Chen fan. He seems very humble and a down to earth person from his interviews. He hasn't completely ruled out an appearance at the next winter Olympics but I'll be eager to see what he does next.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
I want to hug Nathan & his mom
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
In this book figure skater Nathan Chen tells his readers the incredible story of his journey in sports. He also shares some details about what it was being an olympian during the pandemic, how figure skating affected his family life, and how he managed to study at Yale and become olympic gold medallist at the same time. There are some nice pictures in the end!
Content Warnings
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
I’ve been watching Nathan Chen skate since 2017. This book is a testament to his journey growing as both the person and athlete that I’ve had the pleasure of watching for years. Alice Park does an exceptional job of conveying the manner in which Nathan thinks: subtly emotive, and inspiringly intellectual. I hope that is not lost to readers that perhaps arrived later in his transformative process. I truly loved reading this book, and am amazed by him every day.
inspiring
fast-paced