Winning Balance: What I've Learned So Far about Love, Faith, and Living Your Dreams - Hardcover

Olympic gold-medalist gymnast Johnson has written an endearing memoir of her rise to winning three silver medals and one gold at age 16. Every bit as interesting are her accounts of coping with the aftermath of fame, both as an Olympic champion and as a reality-TV star on Dancing with the Stars. Among the details: slips on the balance beam in front of Olympic judges, spats with parents, learning to wear heels, and realizing that what looks good on TV--makeup and hair extensions--can look strange in person. Johnson's "balanced" beginnings seem almost too idyllic at the start of the book, but as her struggle toward Olympic glory plays out, we come to appreciate the sturdy values of parents who knew instinctively to honor her high energy and uniqueness. Johnson emerges as a powerhouse champion with a winning attitude, always making the best of circumstances, even an injury that could have ended her career. Her book celebrates both family love and faith in God as wellsprings of strength. A solid offering from a woman wiser than her years suggest she might be.--Booklist

American gymnast Johnson is a four-time Olympic gold and silver medalist; a national--and world--champion athlete and a winner on the popular "Dancing with the Stars." This is the amazing true journey of how this young Olympian has found balance in her life.