Customer Reviews

Getting a Grip: On My Body, My Mind, My Self

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When it comes to athletes and their off-court, off-field problems, I usually think, "Big deal; all that money you get should make the hurt go away!"

But Monica Seles's memoir is different. From the start, she's not writing to beg for sympathy. This is her story of her struggle with compulsive overeating (the reason I picked this book up, as I, too, struggle with emotional and compulsive overeating), the horrific stabbing she endured in Germany, and shortly after that, discovering her beloved dad/coach was terminally ill, not in that order!

I felt awful for her, for the rude awakening she received in realizing how cold the business of tennis is, not to mention the lack of justice when her attacker was simply given probation and set free, plus she had to pay his freaking legal bills.

It was good to see that even celebrities struggle and cry, although for me, Monica Seles isn't like other celebrities. She seems miles above all the others in her authenticity and grit.

I loved this book and read it in 2 days. I cried so much in reading it, I saw myself in so much of her struggle with her weight and food, and appreciate her honesty in sharing difficult memories and episodes in her life that anyone else would rather pretend never happened.

Five stars!!!

I don't read a lot of memoirs, but I was really drawn to this one because of Ms. Seles' honesty and openness in her recent New York Times interview. I've been a fan of hers for many years, and have always wondered how she coped with the horrible stabbing.

In this memoir, Ms. Seles is not only inspirational, she is vulnerable and thoughtful. She lets down her guard completely and tells her story without whining or complaining, a real plus. This was very moving and I think the book can be beneficial to fans of Monica Seles as well as those who are struggling to overcome eating disorders and/or grieving the loss of a parent.

I remain a huge fan.


Lisa McMann, New York Times bestselling author of Wake

I purchased this book after seeing Monica discuss her book on "Good Morning America." I too used food to "stuff down" my emotions instead of dealing with them and allowed food to control my life for far too many years. After recently becoming more in touch with my emotions and dealing with very traumatic incidents from my past, food does not have the same unhealthy hold. Reading Monica's book was interesting to see how she has learned to deal with her addiction to food.

This is a well written book and Monica writes with sincere honesty and frankness. Monica has been one of my all-time favorite sport figures since my early childhood. My interest in this book was a more personal one since both Monica and I come from Novi Sad (in the former Yugoslavia) and I remember, as a kid, strolling almost daily past the tennis courts where she used to play - thinking, "This is where Monica Seles, the world's best tennis player, used to practice!" I am sure she was (and still is) a huge inspiration to the many top-seeded tennis players who are/were coming out of the former Yugoslavia and beyond. In any case, Monica's story focuses more on her life once she had arrived to the tennis academy in the USA - at around age 10 and the hardships and triumphs she had faced since. This book is not meant solely for a specific group of readers. Anyone can relate to her story because she is (for a lack of a better word) a quite simple and normal person. She is not at all someone who went crazy with their money and overdose on cocaine, became dependent on something rather disgusting, and then ended up writing a tell-all book about their experience which only a small percentage could relate to. Rather, the problems she had faced are quite real and common. It goes to show that money and success are not everything and that happiness comes only when one is truly content with oneself. I would also like to add that Monica looks better than ever and, it seems to me, that her mental/spiritual strength is stronger now than her physical strength ever was. A truly great read!

This is a fascinating book even if you're not a tennis player, an athlete or even someone who follows tennis. When I picked up the book, I had only a vague idea of who Monica Seles was, but I was immediately drawn in by her honest and self-critical style of writing in this autobiography of her life from her early childhood to her mid 30's. What's remarkable is that such an accomplished and disciplined athlete could nonetheless struggle with such universal issues as low self-esteem, depression and even overeating. it's incredible to think that someone could win the French Open and still think that she was "bad" because she ate a cupcake. It's incredible to think that even a top athlete dislikes her body and is insecure about it, to think that even top athletes compare their bodies to others and find them wanting. it's incredible that such a strong female athlete could still find herself in relationships with uncaring men who would be critical of her -- or to think that a boyfriend could still criticize her body after she's won yet another tournament. (Luckily, Monica has the good sense to immediately dump the guy!) Monica shares all this and more, putting it all out there for the reader. The ending, where she finds herself, as well as the passages in which she writes about her family, are beautiful, moving and uplifting. This is a wonderful book for everyone who struggles with feelings of self-esteem and self-confidence. Monica gave us a gift when she wrote this book.

Monica Seles' autobiography as expected, lives upto the standards of an awesome read. The simplicity of the book appeals to the reader right from the first page. Truly inspirational and motivating is how I would describe this book. The journey of Monica from her early tennis days to the days of "Dancing with the Stars" grips the reader. I felt as if some one out there had and is experiencing what I had been through many times in my life. I would like to thank the author for sharing her experience. Kudos Monica!
Please keep writing.

Enjoyed it tremendously. Monica is candid and interesting. I have followed her career from the beginning and never understood what she went through until now. She is a beautiful champ and I think will always be considered one of the best if not the best tennis players ever.

When I saw Monica on Dancing With the Stars last fall I was struck by how great she looked. I was so happy to see her looking healthy and happy. A huge tennis fan, I remember when she hit the scene as a youngster. But although I remember her "getting heavier" I had no idea she had struggled with an eating disorder.

Monica's book has two great angles. One, she provides a very detailed, real view into the life of a tennis pro. The travel, the competition, the preparation and the pace. As she recounts different matches and wins I remember watching them. But the other story in her book is about a person no different than you or me. A person who suffered with a lack of control over food because of unresolved emotional issues tied to her stabbing and her father's death from cancer. The message that oozes from this book validates the theory that having money doesn't provide happiness.

It wasn't until she sustained a foot inquiry that kept her from tour for over a year that she started to connect with and process her grief over her father's death. Once she slowed down and started to explore life outside tennis she finally started to connect with her inner self and the desperation and obsession to eat started to subside. Since she couldn't play tennis she was forced to look at who she really was. As the pace slowed, so did her intake of food. With an exposure to yoga and journaling she began to identify with her feelings and most importantly - once she changed her focus from her obsession about losing the weight, she started to lose it. Effortlessly.

Monica's book provides hope and inspiration for women and men everywhere who have struggled with their weight. She found her self, BY HERSELF after years of hiring people to "fix" and babysit her. In the end, Monica scored bid and learned to LOVE herself.

Monica's story is probably the most compelling in the history of modern sports, and she lays it all out here. From her childhood days to her meteoric rise to the top of the cut-throat world of pro women's tennis, Monica shares the sacrifice and commitment by her and her family to get to the top. Then she elaborates on the temptations of celebrity as a teenager, until we get to that fateful day in 1993. Monica devotes little time to the actual stabbing incident, what is more telling is her disappointment at her perceived lack of support from her tennis peers and the WTA. The rest of the book is devoted to Monica's attempt to rise back to the top, fighting demons not of her creation (the psychological damage from stabbing incident, her beloved father's death) and of her creation (her destructive addiction to junk food), never with anger or looking to cast blame, until she gets to the place of peace in her retirement from tennis from which she writes this memoir. Monica also elaborates on the changes in woman's tennis that she has seen in her years on tour, to now where players are bigger, stronger, more glamorous, and look more suited for the cover of Maxim than S.I. The book is a great summertime book, an easy, yet utterly compelling read, and would be great for younger readers. I've always been a big fan of Monica's, I'm an even bigger fan of her's now having read this book. After seeing how stunningly beautiful and graceful, yet humble and down to earth she is now on various TV interviews, that attitude also comes across in the book, and I'm joyed that her story appears to have a happy ending!

I had become a fan of Monica since 2003 and followed her career until her retirement. When I read all the news about her a few years ago, I could not stop wondering why Monica could not get back to the top after she came back. After reading this book, I have the answers and that makes me admire her 1000 times more. While I would still wish that the April 30 event had never happened, however, I have learnt to appreciate more that she kept playing while suffering from the loss of her father, the stabbing and of course the food disorder. I would recommend this book to everyone, not because Monica is a nine times Grand Slam champion but a lady who showed enormous courage in overcoming her adversity.