A Skating Life: My Story

by Dorothy Hamill

Hardcover, 2007

Status

Available

Publication

Hyperion (2007), Edition: First Edition, 256 pages

Description

The dazzling smile, the signature haircut, the staple spin. Dorothy Hamill grew up on the ice, working toward the dream she was to accomplish by age nineteen: Olympic gold in figure skating. But life was not the picture of perfection it appeared to be. Dorothy faced a painful inner struggle--though she did not know about the depression that ran in her family until much later in life. Weeks and months away from home to train and compete took a difficult toll, yet little reprieve could be found in her tumultuous and fragile relationship with her parents. She went on to skate with the Ice Capades and to marry the man of her dreams, Dean Paul Martin, only to have the partnership end in heartache. A second failed marriage tested Dorothy's trust yet again, but she found strength in what she did have--her daughter Alexandra, and her skating.--From publisher description.… (more)

Rating

(12 ratings; 3.4)

User reviews

LibraryThing member ilovebooksdlk
The worst book I've read in years.

I grew up loving Hamill, wanting to be a competitive skater as a kid. So I gravitated toward this book quite naturally. The writing is attrocious and Hamill breaks the cardinal rule of memoir. It doesn't sound authentic, it's market spin. The book is as neat and
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tidy as her classic hairdo. All of it too perfect and not a bit of it is interesting.

Not one single nugget worth reading here. Skip it.
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LibraryThing member JenniferRobb
I remember watching Dorothy Hamill skate and win the Olympic gold medal. I remember her wedge haircut and Dick Button pointing out the "Hamill Camel" in commentary on televised events. It's only when I read this book that I realized I knew very little about her life outside skating. I'd seen her
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skate in some of the professional events and shows and even vaguely remember that she once owned Ice Capades, but outside of that . . .

She seems to have come to some understanding of her parents, particularly her mother, as she's matured. I was sorry to hear about the depression that occurred in both her parents's families (as well as in both her parents) and am sorry she has to deal with it herself. This book doesn't touch at all on her cancer journey (mentioned by another reviewer)--I believe that diagnosis happened after this book was published and I did go read a little about it online--but as a fellow breast cancer survivor, I was sorry to hear about that as well. It's difficult to imagine that she had to choose between an anti-estrogen drug and an antidepressant drug, particularly since she experienced side effects with the former and problems going off the latter. I was glad to read that she'd gotten very involved with her treatment options and done research on them to find what was right for her.

The book sort of flew along for me while reading but there were times I felt like events were glossed over without much detail being given or much insight into what she might have felt at the time.
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Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2007

Physical description

256 p.; 5.5 inches

ISBN

1401303285 / 9781401303280
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