Pretty Good for a Girl: An Athlete's Story Volume 1

by Leslie Heywood

Book Overview

The gripping story of one woman's drive to win-now in paperback.

The gripping story of one woman's drive to win-now in paperback.

"Just in time for the upsurge in 'girl power' books comes this insightful yet disturbing sports memoir of a former Arizona high-school track and cross-country star who soars to first place in races but spirals downward in her battle to win acceptance among her male peers, to avoid...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0816636591
• ISBN13: 9780816636594
• Release Date: December 1999
• Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Couldn't put it down

I couldn't put it down. I literally read it cover to cover in less than a day. It was an honest look into her life that was absoltely brilliant. It's the best book I've read in a long time.

very true to life, a must read

This is a wonderful book. It may be a bit deep for some people (judging from one of the reviews), but go ahead and jump right in as long as you're not afraid to think outside of the box. I have been a female athlete since I was 8 years old, and totally understood everything Heywood writes about. Performing... the drive to make a name for yourself... the way life can seem to get out of control when you're trying so hard to control it... this book is very true to life. I really think any parent of a hard-core athlete should read this; it just might help them understand where their daughter is coming from.

An excellent story about one girl's need to be #1.

I suggest every father or mother who has a young girl interested in sports read this book. It is apparent everyone can take something away from Leslie's mistakes and triumphs. She has written a clear,captivating and disturbing memior. It is truly an eye opener and a page turner. Leslie, "Keep on Rocking in a Free World."

A memoir of a true champion and a role model

I am a 17 year old girl and a distance runner on my high school track team. I found Leslie Heywood's book to be an abosutley incredible memoir that touches the soul. There are so few people in this world with the drive, determination and dedication to make themselves the absolute best they can be. It is obvious that Heywood has the true heart of a champion, that not only made it in the world of athletics but struggled and conquered things like sexual harrassment, (and just harassment in general), bulemia, the tourturous colligate track life, and made it through all of it to write an extremly powerful and well written novel. She is a role model to the girl athletes who strive to do what she did.

A remarkable voice

The entire time I read this book, I felt as if I had been punched in the solar plexus. This book is so visceral, so raw, reading it feels like gawking at a car wreck. The way that she captures the phenomenon of a body at war with itself, its drive to destroy the self it is simultaneously trying to build up, captures, I think, so many young women's experiences, regardless of whether they are athletes. The prose in this book shifts back and forth between an anguished scream and a gentle whisper. It is captivating; I found myself unable to stop reading, even though some of the content upset me so much I wanted to stop.