Stronger Than She Thinks

In her first book for children, Olympic medalist Nancy Kerrigan shares scenes from her childhood as she learns how to work hard, believe in herself, and to land her first axel jump.

“A spirited autobiographical story”—Publishers Weekly

“Straightforward inspiration for very young audiences.”—School Library Journal

Nancy (age 8) and her family sacrifice time, money, and effort into her clear skill, talent, and passion for figure skating. She’s really good at it, but money is tight while she’s learning to land the hardest of figure skating jumps – the axel. And she must be able to do one in order to go to her first competition.

Her skates are too small, her feet hurt, but try after try, she gets up off the ice and takes another turn around the ice until she finally lands that first (wobbly) axel and then lands it solidly at her first competition.

Persistence, hard work, and the importance of believing in yourself are highlighted in this story from the earliest moments of Nancy Kerrigan’s figure skating career.

From the author’s note:

From the earliest moments in my skating career, I faced obstacle after obstacle. But I kept trying. Every time I fell, I got back up. Every time I failed, I tried again. Every time someone told me no, I kept working until I earned a yes…. Eventually, I learned that I had more strength within me than I ever realized. And here’s great news—you’re stronger than you think, too.