Customer Reviews

All the Sundays Yet to Come: A Skater's Journey

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just wanted to say that I loved this book. Kate is an awesome person and a great coach (I know first-hand, she coached me when I was really young!). Not only is she great on the ice, but she proves her self as a valid author through her book. This book very accurately portrays how the life of a skater is. People think that anorexia is for the weak-minded, but in reality it can strike anyone. Athletes are not weak-minded at all. The book does a good job showing the pressures of sport and family and the toll these pressures can take on one's mind and body. It's a great book to read, even if you dont know much about figure skating!

I am not normally a fan of memoirs of difficult childhoods, wherein authors scan their lives to find external causes for the difficulties they've faced. And what the heck does a twentysomething have to fill a memoir anyway? Even with all that, I found this book to be well worth buying and reading.

This book has very funny and very powerful writing in it, sometimes simultaneously. She is a good story-teller, and the book was very hard to put down. Most importantly, Bertine does a great job, in my opinion, of balancing on the thin line between thoughtful analysis of her life and the people in it and self-indulgent blaming.

At several points throughout the book, just when I was sure the author was going to spiral into the self-indulgent, and that I was going to have to put the book down with a groan, Bertine turned on herself, pointedly describing her own shortcomings and their source within her own self, making me realize that this book was not written about her family, or her home town, or "the seamy underbelly of the figure skating world", but is, in fact, Bertine's story of how she got to know herself.

This book really engrossed me. I don't know the first thing about skating, and I'm a mediocre runner at best, but I'm an avid armchair traveller, and I loved hearing about what the author went through. It was a nice structure for the book to see her grow up and go from young skater to disillusioned older skater to fulfilled triathelete. Good job! Can't wait to read the next one!

I heard of this book called All the Sundays Yet to Come written by a figure skater about her skating experiences. From what little I heard, I assumed a middle-aged skater wrote about her experiences as an adult skater. Quite the contrary. This eye-opening memoir accurately depicts life as a figure skater right down to the snot flying out of the nose. Yet that is only where Kathryn Bertine's story begins. Humor and honesty just begin to describe the details Kathryn shares of her life--not just the figure skating-related parts, but also her figure skating dream that not only unraveled, but was turned inside out. She shares challenges faced by many, as well as personal struggles that are often left untold. All the Sundays Yet to Come is not just another figure skating book, but rather a story filled with life lessons and a journey--what a little girl wanted to be, to the woman she became as a result of her life experiences. It takes guts to write with such honesty and that makes her story all the more interesting. There is something for everyone in this book and I highly recommend it!

I began skating at the age of nine. It was then that I was introduced to a different world. Aside from the sparkle and glitter of competition, there is intense training. I have been a skater for almost a decade now, and as I begin my search for colleges and look towards the future, "All the Sunday's Yet to Come" is becoming a larger part of my life. When I first read the book I thought "Wow this book really captures our world." However, upon a 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th reading, I have come to truly appreciate Kathryn's work. I have quoted this novel in many college essays in hopes of convaying what skating means to me. I think Kathryn says it best in her novel: "Figure skating was my escape, the physical and psychologial place I could go when I needed the embrace of acceptance and the comfort of something larger" I have been lucky to find a skating, my niche in the athletic field. But I have been even more lucky to have found this book. A truly inspiring story, that uses the honesty of a skater and the beauty of language to help open our world to outsiders. Unless you have lived it, it is hard to express what an open sheet of ice represents. An unofficial contract is signed between a skater and the ice; we give ourselves wholly and unconditionally to the ice, and in return, it will turn us into the best skaters and people we can possibly become. It is there for the memories of maturing skater, sharing them like a silent sister. Kathryn's novel gives a voice to our sister, through her describtion of a skater's passion and dedication. Her book is by far one of my most treasured posessions.

I discovered Kathryn Bertine's writing in 2007 when she began writing for ESPN about her attempts to make it to the Olympics. I found her writing both funny and well done, and kept coming back on an almost daily trip to check to see what else was going on. Fast forward a year, and I finally ordered her book, and I feel it gives a deep glimpse into the personality of the writer those familar with the ESPN work ought to know. The desire to make the Olympics harkens back to her desire not to quit in her dreams of skating professionally.

Now, as a male who is not a skating fan, I was skeptical that I would enjoy this book. I was drawn to her work originally because I love cycling, and she spoke of that with excellent skill. But Bertine makes the sport simple to understand, and doesn't get stuck on the details. I found her relationship with both parents to be excellent, and her descriptions of her body image to be tragic.

All in all, this book is an amazing coming of age tale, and I would recommend it to anyone who has body image issues, any athlete (especially ladies), and to all those who might have had a difficult childhood or have undergone a difficult period in their own life in which they felt alone.

An excellent book, and well worth the time!

This book captured me off gaurd. I picked it up because I was interested to learn about life in an ice show, but was drawn in by Kathryn's struggles with wieght and self-confidence. I enjoyed her humor, insight and optimism and I think this book can bring great hope to others who struggle with these issues.

Talented figure skater Kathryn Bertine lands her dream job as a professional skater, but bares the secrets that this glorious sport tries so hard to hide: the pressure, the sometimes-demeaning demands of a pro career, and the really dirty little secret - eating disorders.

Ms. Bertine is now pursuing an athletic career in the triathlon, and I wish her well. She's see the highs and lows, the stars and shadows, and takes the reader with her on a moving retrospective through this book.

Every parent of an athletic hopeful should read this book as a lesson in what NOT to do. I also recommend Christine Brennan's "Inside Edge" and "Little Girls in Pretty Boxes."

As a big fan of figure skating, I ordered this book and was not disappointed. It is well written, funny, candid, and thoroughly enjoyable. Bertine's story is insightful and interesting and certainly drew me in.

I am not an avid reader of memoirs, nor am I particularly fond of figure skating, but I could not put this book down. It is an elegantly written and brutally honest account of what happens when a long sought after dream turns into a living nightmare. The author has a talent for bringing readers into her world, taking them on a journey each one will be able to relate to in one way or another. At times laugh out loud funny, at others extremely moving, Ms. Bertine both entertains and challenges the reader. Her vivid imagery, creative metaphors, and unique voice will leave the reader wanting more. An extraordinary and courageous first work.