Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters

by Joan Ryan

Overview

Welcome to the world of women's gymnastics and figure skating—the real world that happens away from the cameras, at the training camps and in the private lives of these talented teenage competitors. From starvation diets and debilitating injuries to the brutal tactics of tyrannical gymnastics guru Béla Károlyi, Little Girls in Pretty Boxes portrays the horrors endured by girls at the hands of their coaches and sometimes their own families—and is now updated with a new introduction and foreword that address the sexual abuse scandal perpetrated by USA Gymnastics national team doctor, Larry Nassar. This groundbreaking book shows how a longstanding culture of abuse made young gymnasts perfect targets for a sexual predator, and continues to plead for sanity, safety, and an end to our national obsession: winning at any cost.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538747780
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	07/17/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	249,360
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Joan Ryan is an award-winning journalist and the author of four books. Her groundbreaking book Little Girls in Pretty Boxes was named one of the Top 100 Sports Books of All Time by Sports Illustrated and one of the Top 50 Sports Books of All Time by the Guardian. Throughout her career, Ryan has been awarded thirteen Associated Press Sports Editors awards, the National Headliner Award, the Women's Sports Foundation's Journalism Award and the Fabulous Feminist Award from the San Francisco chapter of NOW. She is a founding trustee of Coaching Corps in Oakland, CA, and the Association of Women in Sports Media. Since 2008, she has been a media consultant with the San Francisco Giants.

Table of Contents

Foreword xiii

Introduction, 2018 Edition 1

Introduction 13

1 If it Isn't Bleeding, Don't Worry About It: Injuries 29

2 They Stole Her Soul and They Still Have It: Eating Disorders 66

3 Be Thin and Win: Image 106

4 Do It for America: Pressure 132

5 We All Became Junkies: Parents 151

6 The Game Within the Game: Politics and Money 181

7 Whatever It Takes: Coaches 205

8 The Aftermath: An Update 246

Acknowledgments 275

Editorial Reviews

One of Sports Illustrated's "Top 100 Sports Books of All Time"

One of Guardian (UK)'s "Top 50 Sports Books of All Time"

"Scathing...profoundly important."—San Francisco Chronicle

"Stunning and frightening."—John Feinstein, New York Times bestselling author of A Good Walk Spoiled and TheFirst Major

"Confirms your worst suspicions about 15-year-old gymnasts in 10-year-old bodies and the terrible price they pay, regardless of success."—Phil Mushnick, New York Post

"This book will open the eyes of every girl and parent with dreams of the Olympics, and it will change forever the way America looks at two of its most beloved sports."—Billie Jean King

From the Publisher

Sports columnist Ryan presents an expos of the physical and psychological suffering endured by young Olympic hopefuls. (July)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

YA-In an attempt to focus attention on the high price paid through pain, pressure, and humiliation to become an Olympic champion, Ryan has researched the stories behind some of the young female superstar gymnasts and figure skaters. The extraordinary cost to these young women in body, mind, and spirit is dramatized through the intense subculture dominated by gyms, trainers, parents, and sports officials who press for excellence and success without regard to the health and well-being of those involved. This anecdotal account serves as a warning to all those engaged in competitive sports that children should not be sacrificed to adult egos and the thrills of victory. A book to be pondered by coaches, parents, and young people.-Mary T. Gerrity, Queen Anne School Library, Upper Marlboro, MD

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