Recommendations from our site
“Although it’s a really upbeat book—it’s funny and it rollocks along—I found there to be a level of sadness there, that it took so long for her to be able to be true to herself. You might say, ‘The world isn’t like that now. You don’t have to hide your sexuality.’ But she was in the army, and the rules forbade you from being homosexual. It was something she’d been forced to hide. Then there was, ‘I’m an Olympic champion, I’m famous. Am I supposed to be a certain way? Do people expect me to be a certain type of person?’ It was doubly hard for her to come out when she was a famous figure because it had been instilled in her that what she felt was shameful. So it was a very sort of specific set of circumstances that led to her own journey about being honest about her sexuality. But it is insightful. It reminds you that when someone you know or hear about says, ‘I’m gay’ it isn’t always an easy thing to do. You’ll have close family that might judge you, as well as the wider public.” Read more...
The Best Sports Books of 2024: The William Hill Award
Alyson Rudd, Journalist
