Forward: A Memoir

This book is an honest portrayal of winning, losing, and everything in between. Abby was such a phenomenal athlete yet she struggled with her own self love. She is someone who puts it all on the table yet takes responsibility for her actions. A true hero in my mind. I appreciate her candid outlook and I think she is courageous for being so real. Amazing story and an even more amazing person. Loved this book!!

Absolute page turner. Could not put it down. Her honesty and bravery is palpable. So happy she has found love with Glennon. Those two minds in one house must be about as inspiring as it gets. ❤️❤️❤️

Authentic & interesting

At breakneck speed, this autobiography takes us from Wambach's childhood, clamoring for attention as the youngest of seven children through her college and pro soccer career, numerous relationships and breakups and injuries. Her adult years, she claims, were spent alternating between intense athletic training and competition and massive abuse of alcohol and drugs until a DUI arrest in April 2016 sent her to rock bottom and all has been a rosy garden path of blossoming self awareness since them.She wraps up the account in a far-too-tidy bow, claiming that after her arrest she stopped drugs and drinking cold turkey and won't ever drink again. That should ring a massive alert bell for anyone familiar with the process of addiction and recovery. Her arrest was in early April 2016. The book concludes in early July -- only three months later. At the time of her arrest, she claims to have regularly been drinking up to a half gallon of vodka a day, washed down with a handful of Vicodin and Ambien, sometimes throwing in caffeine pills, her marriage was falling apart and she was struggling to find a meaning in life after retiring from soccer ... essentially her full time career since she was five years old.Now in early July, she paints a picture of serenity as she jogs through the streets of Paris while covering a European soccer tournament for television (a performance that she fails to admit was universally panned.) She's in the middle of a divorce. The dream house she bought and renovated with her wife is on the market. She has no real job other than some college speaking engagements and the faltering broadcast stints. And she's three months sober, apparently without the benefit of any kind of rehab, formal therapy, or 12-step group. This is not the story of a woman who has moved on from crisis. This is a story written mid-crisis on multiple fronts with no awareness that the worst may yet be ahead of her.I'm afraid this is not the last we will hear about Abby Wambach and her struggles.

There seem to be two types of memoirs: Here is my life and the universal truths I’ve found in it; Here’s my life, maybe you’ll identify with some of it. For some reason, the later ones have a tendency to end in a way that is unsatisfying-as if there was something the author should have said but they did not do the work to figure out what that thing was. This is not always the case with the second type, but unfortunately it was with this book. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed it. I’m here for whatever Abby has to say not just because I want to glean from her wisdom but because I love how she says things and how she sees the world. This book did not disappoint on this in anyway. Whether I identify with her or not, I enjoy her. And while her words are less inspiring this round, her life never could be anything but. So, I still recommend it. I just think it would be more enjoyable if you weren’t waiting for that Abby wisdom she did not offer. There was no great summation. Take out that disappointment, you’ve got a great book.

Often Abby Wambach's accomplishments on the soccer pitch were astonishing: the record number of goals, two Olympic gold medals, her huge role in building interest in women's professional soccer in the U.S. But in this book she courageously reveals the emotional pain she experienced as her fame grew. Scarred by her youthful traumas over being "different" at a time when being a lesbian was hugely unacceptable in her affluent, conservative, Catholic surroundings, she parlayed her athletic talent into an inspiring success story on the world stage. But privately she drowned the pain of rejection, self-doubt, and grisly injuries with vodka and pain pills as her career and, soon after, her marriage ended. More inspiring than her unequalled on-field accomplisments, however, is the less visible story of the significant impact of her advocacy for equal pay and opportunitied for women, plus protection for abused women and children. Abby Wambach's story inspires on many levels.

I have never played team sports. I don't watch team sports. I don't even watch the Olympics because I choose to forego TV. So I didn't know anything about Abby Wambach until I opened this book. If a soccer superstar can write well enough to interest a woman with no sports background whatsoever, she has done her job. Although the details of the games she played didn't interest me as much as the details of her personal life, they weren't a total loss for me. She was able to convince me that soccer is a complicated game as well as a dangerous game! I learned a lot. Her personal stories of her love life (she is homosexual although she had one male in her life) and her substance-abuse issues were interesting to me. Just as so many superstars in this world lose their selves somewhat while pursuing their dreams (think Elvis Presley), Abby Wambach's love-hate relationship with soccer complicates her personal life. Now that she has retired from soccer, she is busy creating a new life for herself while recovering from alcoholism and drug addiction. I wish her the best in her new life.

Abby Wambach was just a name but interesting as a female footballer. This book, however, is an interesting insight into sporting 'genius', fame and the inequalities women and girls face despite supposedly being 'equal'. It is not a titillating read and does not give away many of soccer's secrets nor those of the individual's that surrounded Abby on her journey of self discovery. You will enjoy this book if you're interested in women's football and the difficulties faced by those who follow that path or find a gifted sportswoman's battles with her demons and journey to becoming an aware and responsible woman interesting. It is not well written and the structure is often confusing but, in this genre, l have read a lot worse.

Really enjoyed reading this book. In fact, I developed a crush on her and I am straight.I read her wives book which I did not enjoy so much, it let me to this book.I felt inspired, sad, devastated and happy for her.It's pretty honest in the way she talks about her shortfalls and her addiction issues.Recommended

Abby Wambach is recognised as the greatest of all time (GOAT) female soccer player with team and individual honours stacked up during a glorious career. Behind the un-rivalled success is the story of someone searching for the real meaning in her life, during and after her playing days. This brutally honest account is compelling reading, not another superficial sports story but a revelation about her life, joyous and heartbreaking, disastrous and brave. I was lucky enough to be at Wembley in 2012 to see her win her Olympic gold medal, she did not score but she made things happen for her team, an impressive physical prescence and an outstanding leader. How does she manage to follow that?

A bit self obsessed, l got board with this book

Thought provoking, brutally honest and well worth a read. Glad to see her happy and settled now too :)