This book was slow at times, but overall I greatly enjoyed reading and learning about all that went in to make Jessie who she is and how she became a gold medalist. It was also cool to read a book from a native Minnesotan.

One of the reasons why I love the memoir genre so much is I get to dive into lives I'll never have, and "Brave Enough" is no exception. Jessie Diggins is a sweet, sunshiney Midwestern woman whose drive to become better a better person propelled her to the world stage in cross-country skiing.

"Brave Enough" charts the journey from being a chipper Minnesota girl with an appetite for competition to becoming a world-class athlete and US Olympic gold medalist in her sport. I didn't go into this book with much knowledge about cross-country skiing, and Diggins's writing gives an inside look and will leave you with nothing but an immense respect for those in her sport.

I think there's sometimes a temptation with personal stories to only talk about things that make you look good or moments that were successful. But instead of taking the easy route, Diggins shows us that while she herself is full of glitter and energy, her path has not been easy. She opens up about the dark side of her drive for perfection: her struggles with an eating disorder. Her honesty and vulnerability in this book is really incredible, and offers a voice for other young women who might be struggling in silence in pursuit of being perfect.

Jessie Diggins is not only an incredible athlete, but also a leader for women and girls everywhere who are hungry for the next goal they want to achieve. Her book is full of so much joy, perseverance, honesty, inspiration, and clarity. It was an absolute delight to read. We are lucky to have such a voice in the world.

I'd recommend this book for anyone who loves inspirational stories, sports, or any girls who might be wrestling with how to be her best despite the world's unhealthy beauty standards.

Thank you to Netgalley and University of Minnesota Press for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Brave Enough follows Olympic Gold Medalist Jesse Diggins who earned her medal in Cross Country skiing . She comes from a Canadian and American family who is very active with most things outdoors including camping, canoeing, and most of all cross country skiing . At a very young age Jessie was a dare devil a definite adrenaline chaser having her own zipline and jumping of cliffs into the lake. As she is growing up she is a stellar athlete who seems to have it all going right but she has a dark secret she has an eating disorder and she is very detailed of what was or is the cause along with the whole process of trying to get better which just my give some one that is going through the same thing the inspiration to reach out for some help.

You follow along as she progress up the ladder of competition and making the national and Olympic teams. She has an unreal training regiment that is total dedication that is 6 days a week. This is and should be emotion moving book you are right there with her in the descriptions of the races. I had to look them up to watch again. They only thing I wish is there would have been just a little more description of the technical aspects for some one that has no skiing experience especially when it came to the talk about waxing. This book will not disappoint you .

Loved it. Love reading stories about women overcoming obstacles to achieve their goals no matter what. Well written and engaging. It's a story not to be passed up. Happy reading!

Jessie Diggins is an Olympic medal winning American woman. This book is about her life growing up and getting into sports and progressing into Winter sport.

Very well written, I enjoyed reading it. Her struggle with bulimia is very well written and I believe will help many women learn to hopefully open up.

The White House visit in 2014 upon the return from the Sochi Winter Olympics and the meeting with the Obama I really enjoyed.

Thank you NetGalley and Univ of Minnesota Press for a copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Jessie Diggins tells her inspirational story of her love for skiing and her Olympic Career. She also reveals her struggles and hardships she had to face on her way to success. (+1)

But I have to be honest; I didn't finish the book after I reached halfway. There was just too much going on in between the most significant moments of her life. (+0)

Brave Enough has a powerful voice where I can almost hear her speaking the book to me. I can hear her bubbly and positive attitude seeping through the pages. (+1)

Diggins writes in a way that reminds me of an interview. She gives straightforward information about the events in her life and how they made her feel. Some parts were slightly confusing due to a lack of explanation. But for the most part, I could create a picture in my head. (+1)

She is also all over the place with her organization. (It's like when you're listening to someone tell a story, and they are excited, and they are all over the place with their story.) I recognized this because I do it all the time. For the most part, I thought that was genuine, raw, and real, and it felt like she was telling the story to me specifically, but at some points, I questioned if some of the details were necessary for the book. (+.5)

My favorite part was the pictures in the middle. It gave great insight into the elements of happiness, family, hard work, determination, and historical moments in sports.

My least favorite part, and the one that made me stop reading, was the comments of the White House meeting after she won her second goal medal. (This is her autobiography, and she can write WHATEVER she wants about her life, thoughts, and feelings, and I'm not trying to take that away from her al all.) I am not a political person, and I hate it when either side of the political spectrum interjects the opinions on others. It makes me very uncomfortable. It's not like I don't agree, I feel like those are private thoughts, and I don't need to hear them.

The progress made by women in many sports has been amazing in the past twenty years and one of those sports in which women, particularly American women, have made great strides is Nordic, or cross-country, skiing. An Olympic medal winner for the United States, Jessie Diggins, writes her memoir in a light, breezy manner that is not only easy to read, it is one that shows the reader every side of this young woman.

As is typical with any sports memoir, Diggins shares her stories of growing up with her family but with a little more detail than usual. Growing up in Minnesota, it was fitting that she became active in the winter with her sister and parents and from there, she became involved in skiing early and has kept up a demanding training schedule from seventh grade in the early 2000's to today.

The reader will learn much about the sport of Nordic skiing, particularly the history of the sport for women, where they have made tremendous progress with not only their performances, but also their exposure and publicity. Diggins talks about her training and her accomplishments in a manner that shows she is still a young woman at heart. That is one of the more endearing aspects of the book – she writes in the manner that she would talk to someone about her skiing career and her life.

Her life was not all glamor, however, as she spends a good amount of text talking about her dark secret – her struggles to overcome bulimia. Anyone not familiar with what that disease can do to a person, including noting that it is not just skinny young girls who become afflicted with this disease, will learn a great deal from Diggins' candid account of her struggle and recovery from this eating disorder. She has a great deal of praise for the Emily Program, which was the program that assisted her with recovery.

Diggins shares several amusing and entertaining stories as well as the "dark side" of her disease. One good example is her actions when she and the rest of the American Olympic team was welcomed at the White House in 2014 upon their return from the Sochi Winter Olympics. She was so overcome with emotion when President Obama shook her hand that she not only cried, but also blurted out she wanted to hug him, something no other athlete had done that day. Not only did the President hug her, but so did First Lady Michelle Obama immediately afterward, and said a few comforting words to Diggs. Jessie's account of this moment is just one of many light-hearted and funny tales she tells as well as the seriousness of her sport and her disease.

This book is an entertaining and informative read that anyone who is interested in Nordic skiing, the life of an Olympic athlete or wishes to learn more about eating disorders is encouraged to read. Jessie was certainly "brave enough" to not only tackle her disorder, but also to become an Olympic medalist.

I wish to thank University of Minnesota Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I like and enjoy short stories, quotations and poetry but these were all very young thoughts and not quite profound. This was not humorous like Nora Ephron or deep/philosophical like Walt Whitman or Henry David Thoreau or scary like Edgar Allen Poe. This author tries to be all cool and sarcastic by adding swears and F-bombs but it is lackluster and forced. NOT IMPRESSED!!!

Slightly amused with some stories but off-putting as a group of short stories. Don't know if I recommend this or not when there are many others (see above) who are leagues ahead of this author, not to be harsh or anything, but it's true.

Glad it was easy to breeze through this in one and half sittings, it was almost a DNF.

Thanks to author, Netgalley and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a Norwegian following cross-country skiing, I knew JD as a very competitive and seemingly always very happy person. It was a little shocking to hear that she had an eating disorder, but at the same time comforting that she's handling it and also helping others.
It was very interesting reading about JD's life so far, and getting to know the sport from an American perspective. I also concur that we all welcome the US athletes as top competitors, and congratulate JD and the rest of the team.
This book is very well written, with an even tone throughout, and with the amusing comments it was a joy reading it.

This review will be placed on Goodreads 10 Feb 2020.

Possible errors:
JD's birthday turning 12 was in 2003, not an Olympic year.
The expression "I used symptoms" (several instances) is unknown to me.