It took me less than a week to read Gracie Gold’s book. She wrote in a candid, as if she was talking directly to me style, and told me the story of her life.
I have also written and published a book called MY SKATING LIFE which tells the story of my life, and there was so many similar stories although I am almost 40 years older than Gracie. My book was published in 2014 which was at about the same time Gold won the US Ladies Figure Skating title for the first time and earned a spot on the Olympic team and earned a bronze medal in the Olympic team event, but so much happened to her after her 2014 Olympic experience.
Gracie Gold’s story is really very similar to most of the stories I’ve read about elite figure skaters, but unlike the stories that I’ve read in the past, Gracie shared every detail which included the good things, but also the bad things. And…some of the bad things were very disturbing.
One reviewer says that Gold’s book may change our sport, but I’m not so sure. Serious competitive figure skaters have always dealt with eating disorders, coaches who control, politics in judging, gossip in the background, depression, sadness, feelings of failure, and jealously. Those things will never change.
I realized as I read her book that Gracie Gold loves skating and that love is still there. I hope to meet her one day and I do hope that 40 years from now that Gracie Gold will still love figure skating as much as I do!
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****Spoiler Alert! Don’t Read below if you Have Not Read Gracie Gold’s book yet!******
Some of the chapters and things said in Gracie Gold’s book were ones that made me really think about our sport:
The chapter about her special friendship with the late John Coughlin took me back to the times my kids trained at the same rink with him. I am glad Gracie and John had such a friendship and I’m still so sad to think that John killed himself because of the SafeSport investigation about him. How devastating it was for everyone who knew John, but wow…what an affect it had on Gracie.
Her eating disorder also “took me back.” I talk about my battle with Anorexia Nervosa in my book. Yes…figure skaters must be thin. There seems to be a lifelong struggle with body image even when a person is “healed” from an eating disorder.
Her relationship with her coaches fascinated me since in competitive skating, coaches hold a special role and how they impact lives can affect the skater’s life for years and years.
When Frank Carroll threw Gracie’s skates in the trash must have been quite a scene! I have known Frank Carroll since I was a little kid and him doing that must have really been a difficult moment.
The very idea that Gracie was raped by a fellow figure skater bothered me so much.
Gracie’s mother’s dedication to both of her daughters’ skating and lives I definitely related to. I did the same thing for my three kids and my father did the same for his three kids and my three kids.
I remember being in hotel rooms after an important competition that didn’t go well crying and thinking my life as I knew it was over. Gracie experience those feelings on a much bigger scale.
It is nice to know how much Gracie enjoys teaching skating. Her love of teaching adults is great. I remember in my young coaching days how much I enjoyed teaching adults and very little children too.
I guess young people think it is okay to use bad language these days, but some of the “words” Gracie used as she told her story did bother me.
I was sad she “ghosted” her father as he tried to reconcile with her and was a bit envious of her wonderful and close relationship with her fraternal twin sister since my sister has not spoken to me for over two years even though I tried to reach out many times like Gracie’s father did.
I’m so glad Gracie is in a good place now after so many lows that happened after the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
I have many more thoughts. I wonder what will happen in Gracie Gold’s life next?
