zinelib's review against another edition
4.0
Another quality sports memoir, and about the same Olympics as the last one I read (Aly Raisman, Fierce): 2016, which drew my attention to the fact that although she had every reason to, Raisman doesn't mention Trump in her book, and Muhammad does. Muhammad succeeded by always keeping her faith and her responsibility to her communities (Muslims, Black people, and Black Muslims) first in her goals. But oops, I'm getting ahead of myself!
Muhammad was raised in Maplewood, NJ, in a family of five kids and a mom and dad. The kids were all encouraged (strongly. "forced" might not be too strong, but not in a bad way) to play sports. Fencing was big in Maplewood (who knew? I always wondered how people got into obscure/über fancy sports. Specifically, how do you get tracked into rhythmic gymnastics?), and Muhammad found her way into it, despite the sport's whiteness being off-putting. She eventually found role models and peers in a POC fencing club run by Black former Olympic fencer Peter Westbrook.
She doesn't downplay her athleticism, but still makes it clear that her success was due to hard hard hard work, competitiveness, intelligence, and having a plan. I'm having a hard time writing articulately about it, so here are some quotations:
And that wasn't the only time peers were dicks to Muhammad. Per her account her fencing national team teammates and coaches didn't give her the time of day, not even rooting for her at the Olympics or expressing concern when she injured herself. Ugh, one of her tormentors said of their team, "'This is sport. It doesn't matter what hair color you have, or what religion you are. The point is to go out there and be the best athlete you can be,' American teammate Dagmara Wozniak said." Like Wozniak's purple hair got her death threats, as Muhammad's hijab did?!? The teammates totally mean girled Muhammad, accidentally forgetting to tell her about practice times, leaving her off emails, excluding her from team meals, and snubbing her mother. That behavior literally made Muhammad sick, but she overcame her anxiety-induced fatigue with therapy and meditation. I looked for a response to Proud from Wozniak and their other teammate Mariel Zagunis, but haven't seen any yet. Let me know if you catch anything.
Here's where she starts on US politics in 2016,
Muhammad used her success to speak out against bigotry. She couldn't not. That's brave and badass, but also not a choice, for a lot of people who are firsts. Even with all the pressure on her, Muhammad wrote of her mindset at the Olympics,
Muhammad was raised in Maplewood, NJ, in a family of five kids and a mom and dad. The kids were all encouraged (strongly. "forced" might not be too strong, but not in a bad way) to play sports. Fencing was big in Maplewood (who knew? I always wondered how people got into obscure/über fancy sports. Specifically, how do you get tracked into rhythmic gymnastics?), and Muhammad found her way into it, despite the sport's whiteness being off-putting. She eventually found role models and peers in a POC fencing club run by Black former Olympic fencer Peter Westbrook.
She doesn't downplay her athleticism, but still makes it clear that her success was due to hard hard hard work, competitiveness, intelligence, and having a plan. I'm having a hard time writing articulately about it, so here are some quotations:
Maplewood is a diverse town, but in the classrooms, segregation was in full effect.Muhammad was a star student, as well as a star athlete and was accepted at several Ivies. She chose to attend Duke, which gave her the best package. She fenced for them, but her money wasn't dependent on doing so. That didn't stop a high school classmate from saying within Muhammad's hearing that she only got in because she was Black. She took all AP classes, while competing in three sports, for the love of Allah!
And that wasn't the only time peers were dicks to Muhammad. Per her account her fencing national team teammates and coaches didn't give her the time of day, not even rooting for her at the Olympics or expressing concern when she injured herself. Ugh, one of her tormentors said of their team, "'This is sport. It doesn't matter what hair color you have, or what religion you are. The point is to go out there and be the best athlete you can be,' American teammate Dagmara Wozniak said." Like Wozniak's purple hair got her death threats, as Muhammad's hijab did?!? The teammates totally mean girled Muhammad, accidentally forgetting to tell her about practice times, leaving her off emails, excluding her from team meals, and snubbing her mother. That behavior literally made Muhammad sick, but she overcame her anxiety-induced fatigue with therapy and meditation. I looked for a response to Proud from Wozniak and their other teammate Mariel Zagunis, but haven't seen any yet. Let me know if you catch anything.
This newfound weight on my shoulders changed and reshaped my conversations with God. Instead of praying for a win or praying during times of difficulties, I started to ask Allah to allow me to represent my community and my family well.I'm not religious, but I am an altruist when I'm at my best, and I appreciate this perspective that Muhammad developed after being asked for her autograph by a young hijabi girl. Though hella competitive, she realized she wanted to succeed for Muslims, who needed a role model.
Here's where she starts on US politics in 2016,
...during the run-up to the November presidential elections, that Muslim Americans came under vicious attack from then presidential nominee Donald Trump, who in turn normalized bigotry and emboldened an entire subset of Americans to act on their hate.
Muhammad used her success to speak out against bigotry. She couldn't not. That's brave and badass, but also not a choice, for a lot of people who are firsts. Even with all the pressure on her, Muhammad wrote of her mindset at the Olympics,
I reminded myself to fence from a place of happiness and gratitude. Competing at the Olympic Games was a gift beyond my wildest dreams, and no matter what happened I was proud of myself for making it this far.She goes on,
I came into the games ranked eighth in the world, and no matter what everyone else expected of me, I wanted to win. I always wanted to win and here on the world stage, I wanted to taste Olympic glory more than I ever had in my life.
bookish_songbird's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.0
niklit's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
3.75