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A review by editrix
Off Balance by Paul Williams, Teri Williams, Dominique Moceanu
I was a fan during the 1996 Olympics and thought this would be an interesting time-passer and nothing more. Surprise! Although I’d heard about Moceanu having some drama with her parents, and although it’s now well known how messed up the Károlyi system was, I didn’t expect this to be such a scathing tell-all about just how much abuse was happening to Dominique, both within the gymnastics world and at home. (And this is without any of the Larry Nassar stuff.) I had to look up whether the Károlyis were still alive when this was published because I couldn’t imagine her daring to speak out so boldly while they were still around. (The book came out in 2012 and both coaches are alive.)
Although Moceanu seems to be in a good place now, it’s pretty devastating to read about all the things she suffered through as a child and the ways in which the ripple effects continued to affect her life. (How awful to win a gold medal and not be able to enjoy it because so many important adults in your life tell you you’re a disappointment.) She’s positive where she can be, and there’s an interesting side story about the sister who was adopted out of her family at birth because of a disability, but readers who are sensitive to mental/emotional/physical abuse should consider themselves warned.
Although Moceanu seems to be in a good place now, it’s pretty devastating to read about all the things she suffered through as a child and the ways in which the ripple effects continued to affect her life. (How awful to win a gold medal and not be able to enjoy it because so many important adults in your life tell you you’re a disappointment.) She’s positive where she can be, and there’s an interesting side story about the sister who was adopted out of her family at birth because of a disability, but readers who are sensitive to mental/emotional/physical abuse should consider themselves warned.