Synopses & Reviews
Megan Rapinoe, Olympic
gold medalist and two-time Women's World Cup champion, has become a
galvanizing force for social change; here, she urges all of us to take
up the mantle, with actions big and small, to continue the fight for
justice and equality.
Megan Rapinoe is one of the world's most talented athletes. But
beyond her massive professional success on the soccer field, Rapinoe has
become an icon and ally to millions, boldly speaking out on the issues
that matter most. In recent years, she's become one of the faces of the
equal pay movement and her tireless activism for LGBTQ rights has earned
her global support.
In
One Life, Rapinoe embarks on a thoughtful and unapologetic
discussion of social justice and politics. Raised in a conservative
small town in northern California, the youngest of six, Rapinoe was four
years old when she kicked her first soccer ball. Her parents encouraged
her love for the game, but also urged her to volunteer at homeless
shelters and food banks. Her passion for community engagement never
wavered through high school or college, all the way up to 2016, when she
took a knee during the national anthem in solidarity with former NFL
player Colin Kaepernick, to protest racial injustice and police
brutality — the first high-profile white athlete to do so. The backlash
was immediate, but it couldn't compare to the overwhelming support.
Rapinoe became a force of social change, both on and off the field.
Using anecdotes from her own life and career, from suing the
United States Soccer Federation alongside her teammates over gender
discrimination to her widely publicized refusal to visit the White
House, Rapinoe discusses the obligation we all have to speak up, and
reveals the impact each of us can have on our communities.
As she
declared during the soccer team's victory parade in New York in 2019, "[T]his is everybody's responsibility, every single person here, every
single person who is not here, every single person who doesn't want to
be here, every single person who agrees and doesn't agree.... It takes
everybody. This is my charge to everybody. Do what you can. Do what you
have to do. Step outside yourself. Be more. Be better. Be bigger than
you've ever been before."
Review
"Rapinoe’s passion for inclusion and equality shines throughout this
appealing book, and her hard-won take on the intersection of sports and
activism isn’t to be missed." Publishers Weekly
Review
"...Olympic
gold medalist and two-time Women's World Cup champion Rapinoe considers
not only her athletic career but her highly publicized stance on social
justice issues, showing how her beliefs are rooted in childhood
experience." Library Journal
Review
"This is a great book for sports fans, for members of the queer
community, for emerging activists and for anyone curious about the world
of women’s sports." Nadia M. Sahi, American Library Association's Rainbow Round Table
Synopsis
An instant New York Times bestseller "Rapinoe's 'signature pose' from the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup is synonymous to the feeling we got when finishing this book: heart full, arms wide and ready to take up space in this world."--USA Today
Megan Rapinoe, Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women's World Cup champion, reveals for the first time her life both on and off the field. Guided by her personal journey into social justice, brimming with humor, humanity, and joy, she urges all of us to ask ourselves, What will you do with your one life?
Only four years old when she kicked her first soccer ball, Megan Rapinoe developed a love - and clear talent - for the game at a young age. But it was her parents who taught her that winning was much less important than how she lived her life. From childhood on, Rapinoe always did what she could to stand up for what was right--even if it meant going up against people who disagreed.
In One Life, Megan Rapinoe invites readers on a remarkable journey, looking back on both her victories and her failures, and pulls back the curtain on events we know only from the headlines. After the 2011 World Cup, discouraged by how few athletes were open about their sexuality, Rapinoe decided to come out publicly as gay and use her platform to advocate for marriage equality. Recognizing the power she had to bring attention to critical issues, in 2016 she took a knee during the national anthem in solidarity with former NFL player Colin Kaepernick to protest racial injustice and police brutality--the first high-profile white athlete to do so. The backlash was immediate, but it couldn't compare to the overwhelming support. Rapinoe became a force of change.
Here for the first time, Rapinoe reflects upon some of the most pivotal moments in her life and career - from her realization in college that she was gay, through the disputes with soccer coaches and officials over her decision to kneel, to the first time she met her now-fianc WNBA champion Sue Bird, and up through suing the US Soccer Federation over gender discrimination and equal pay. Throughout, Rapinoe makes clear the obligation we all have to speak up, and the impact each of us can have on our communities. Deeply personal and inspiring, One Life reveals that real, concrete change lies within all of us, and asks: If we all have the same resource--this one precious life, made up of the decisions we make every day--what are you going to do?
One Life makes it clear that Rapinoe's greatest accomplishments may ultimately come away from the soccer pitch. She's a new kind of American hero.--San Francisco Chronicle
About the Author
Megan Rapinoe is an American
professional soccer player. As a member of the US Women's national
soccer team, she helped win the 2015 and 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup
tournaments and a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. A co-captain
of the team since 2018, she was named the Best FIFA Women's Player in
2019, and was awarded the Golden Boot.