Customer Reviews

A Skating Life: My Story

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You don't have to be a skating fan to be totally enthralled with this story. I literally could not stop reading. It is written with such honesty and is so heartfelt that a few times I cried. I also laughed. The book is quite a ride. I want to read it again and make it a part of my book group so I can talk about it to others.

The book is written in Dorothy's voice. I so enjoyed hearing her speak on Larry King Live, so I bought the book. Dorothy tells her story with such beautiful honesty. I thank Dorothy for sharing her story so intimately. Thank you for opening up your life for us all the know and in turn see our own lives more clearly. Revealing her depression and complicated relationship with her Mother and men in her life, took a huge leap of faith. I so appreciate Dorothy telling the story behind that beautiful smile. I highly recommend this book to all people - young, old, sports enthusiasts, and on and on. GREAT BOOK!

Dorothy Hamill's A SKATING LIFE is one of the most interesting and gripping books I have read in a long time. As the cliche goes, I could hardly put it down! The book is definitely an emotional roller-coaster as it swings from triumph to despair over and over, and is very well-written so that the reader vividly shares her emotions at those times. There is quite a good balance between personal aspects of her life and descriptions of her ice skating career, although in later years the personal dominates. I did sometimes wish that she had described in more detail the technicalities of skating - double axels, the Hamill Camel, lutzes, and other such skating jargon.

But as famous as Dorothy Hamill is, why are there so few DVDs available of her performances?! The only ones I have found are Mannheim Steamroller - The Christmas Angel: A Story on Ice and an appoximately 6-minute segment of her at the 1976 U.S. Figure Skating Championship on the DVD "Skating Through Time, Volume 3" (which at the moment is not showing on Amazon). There are others available on VHS tape, such as Dorothy Hamill's Ice Capades Cinderella, Frozen in Time and Nutcracker: Fantasy on Ice (I have the latter one, and it's excellent.)

Dorothy candidly describes the numerous difficulties she has faced, including family depression, friction with her parents, two failed marriages, and financial difficulties. Yet at the opposite extreme she also recounts the many triumphs in her life. One such incident was at the 1980 winter Olympics, four years after she won the Olympic gold medal for skating. She and her future husband, Dean Paul Martin, were in the audience as the amateur, underdog hockey team from the United States defeated the professional and government-subsidized team from the U.S.S.R. Dorothy recounts, "As the crowd was hailing the American victory, Dean proudly turned to me (and said) 'You know, you did that once.' Not until this moment, and not until Dean said this, did I fully realize the magnitude of winning an Olympic gold medal and what....a great pinnacle of achievement it was in the eyes of the world, especially when an athlete was up against the extraordinary talent of the Eastern bloc countries."

This book is full of many such incidents that often brought tears to my eyes. I have seldom read a book as moving as this one. When I came to the end I felt as though I know Dorothy Hamill very well, and, as she was dubbed after her Olympic win, that she still is "America's Sweetheart." And mine too.

Have you ever wondered what it takes to become an Olympic champion? What is the toll this feat exacts from a person? And after the big gold medal win, then what? Sports memoirs are usually interesting because the subjects possess a skill or talent that most of us don't, and we are fascinated to read what it was like to hit that winning home run or participate in that agonizing marathon. When picking up a memoir by Dorothy Hamill, who launched the careers of thousands of would-be skaters as well as creating a hairstyle craze, readers want to know what it was like to win the gold medal in figure skating in 1976, as well as all the hard work that led up to and followed it.

Hamill candidly talks about the sacrifices her family made to enable her to skate at the highest level. She also details openly the ups and downs and the often icy relationship she shared with both parents, especially her mother, who wasn't in the arena in Innsbruck, Austria, that day in February 1976. Her mother remained back at the hotel, an absence that Dorothy never could understand but took as rejection. After the performance, when she told her mother she had won, Hamill was stunned when her mother responded with a laconic, "That's nice, Dorothy."

We're accustomed to seeing an athlete's meteoric rise. But what happens after the competitions and medal ceremonies? Without their rigorous and regimented training schedules, how can these seasoned athletes acclimate to real life again? One of the most interesting aspects of this memoir is Hamill's assessment of just that: "I should have been on top of the world, but I was ill-equipped to handle these new pressures. All I knew how to do was to get up every morning at 4 a.m. to go to the rink and practice. My day had always been planned around structured activity toward a specific goal I cared about. Suddenly, that was gone, and my present life was so hectic and without meaning."

Apart from her skating career, Hamill also talks about her two difficult marriages. The first was to actor/aviator Dean Paul Martin, son of singer Dean Martin, who would die in a plane crash a few years after their divorce. Her second marriage produced a child, her daughter Alex, but was fraught with deceit, placing her in dire financial straits that ultimately had her declaring bankruptcy. She also talks frankly about her lifelong struggle with depression (a family affliction) and, more recently, osteoarthritis --- the bane of every aging athlete's existence. The love of her child and the desire to make a better home for her enabled Hamill to weather the hard times. Apart from her young daughter, her one abiding love was skating. Whenever she felt down or out, she could always count on a little ice time to relieve whatever pain she was feeling.

Despite all the ups and downs and the years that go by, Hamill still remains the little girl in the red skating dress, with that signature haircut that captured the world's attention and hearts. The book also serves as a good primer for the life of a young skater, the physical and emotional involvement, and what the family of an ambitious skater can expect. Both the athletic and the personal sides add up to a pleasing and enlightening read.

--- Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller

I grew up watching Dorothy Hamill create magic on the ice. I was even one of the first kids in my class to get the Dorothy Hamill haircut! This book was wonderful, and brought to life one of the greatest athletes, personalities and inspirations of our time. The storytelling is exceptional, crisp and clear, and I read it cover to cover in a weekend. I am a huge Hamill fan, and I found this book to be a descriptive, warm, and vivid account of a life filled with trouble, success, heartache and above all, triumph.
I have recommended this book to several people, and will continue to do so. A fantastic read, and well worth it.

A terrific read!! I had no idea that the adorable skater who captured our hearts during the '76 Olympics faced such challenges both before and after winning her gold medal. How generous of her to share her bittersweet story with the world. Deborah Amelon skillfully delivers an honest portrayal of the bright and dark corners and relationships that shaped Hamill's life. A touching and inspirational journey. I can't wait to pass it along to my daughter!

I've met Dorothy and "what you see is what you get" She's a survivor and a great role model who has had some tough times and came throught them with that winning smile. Judy Craig

I give this book a strong 4* rating.

Dorothy has had much success in life (Gold Medal) and many more failures in her personal life and business. She had two failed marriages. Although he strayed on her, Dean Paul Martin was the guy who loved her the most. She should have never married her second husband as he was a parasite. Dean tried to tell her this, but as usual she didn't see it or didn't care. Husband # 2 was a physician and had been bankrupt before he married Dorothy. Dean told Dorothy that he was an opportunist and slept around on his first wife when she was six months pregnant. History repeated itself with Dorothy.

Dorothy and hubby # 2 bought the Ice Capades in bankruptcy. They may have paid too much for it and when their friend who financed the purchase encountered financial difficulty he refused to finance the next year's shows. Dorothy received some bad advice from her attorney and was not served well by him. She should have come out much better on the deal. She advanced money for the shows while she was waiting for the deal to close with the Family Channel. She also should have negotiated a reduction in paying back the loan to her friend.

Dorothy also tells about how a professional jewel thief traveled from the east coast to San Francisco and stole her jewelry. That was a six-figure loss. Not sure why it was necessary to carry all her jewelry on the road with her.

Like most people Dorothy's ups and downs in life have made her a better person.

A very interesting book well worth your time.

From the first time I saw her skate in a televised competition when she was about 14 or 15, I was captivated by Dorothy Hamill and began to follow her career. I couldn't have been more thrilled when she won an Olympic Gold medal several years later. I was saddened to learn of the difficulties she's encountered in her life, but admire the honesty and candidness of the details of her family life, marriages, financial difficulties and struggle with depression that she shares.

A fan of skating, the view from the inside that she provides was most interesting and enjoyable. Talent, a passion for skating, a lot of hard work and maybe a touch of luck ultimately led to her Gold medal. She's survived many difficulties and disappointments in life and I hope she'll ultimately succeed in obtaining a happy ending for her personal life.

I have two competitive figure skating daughters and had the opportunity to meet Dorothy about six years ago. Only a skating family could understand how hard it must have been for Dorothy to write this book. Dorothy's book is honest, human, and spot-on with insights into the skating world. Dorothy doesn't pull punches and allows herself to be seen in a truly human light.

The book is an easy, engaging and quick read. When I finished the last page, I had the same reaction I believe many Americans must have had after she won her gold medal...I just wanted to give her a hug. With tears in my eyes I handed the book to my 18-year old daughter (a figure skater) who was sitting next to me on the plane to read what Dorothy had written about her mother. We both cried.

Way to go Dorothy! It's good to hear your "voice."