I don’t think I have ever read any non-fiction about sports or athletes and I honestly let this one sit on my NetGalley shelf for several weeks before opening it. Once I did, I could not put it down. Hurdles in the Dark: My Story of Survival, Resilience, and Triumph by Elviria K (Kristy/Kris) Gonzalez is an inspiring borderland memoir about her struggles and successes getting over not only the metaphorical hurdles often found in this genre, but also the physical 30 inch aluminum track hurdles. My son ran track from 3rd grade to D1 college.so I have been to a lot of track meets.and those hurdle events are not for the faint of heart.

Kristy's dream in middle school is to be in a punk band and skateboard. Her mom has dreams of getting her out of the barrio and into the best public school on the other side of town. After a track coach scouts Kristy at a track meet, mom thinks she has found her ticket out. When Kristy's friend is gunned down outside his house, Kristy agrees with her mother to switch schools.

A month before starting her freshman year, her mother attends a wedding across the border in Mexico and is kidnapped by cartel members.Kris has 24 hours to raise the $40,000 ransom. She literally runs around her poor but generous border community trying to come up with the money needed for her mothers safe return.

At 16, Kristy ends up in Juvie after calling 911 for a domestic argument. She explains the conditions and humiliation she endures. She bonds with some other girls in there and commits to two things upon her release: #1 to write a book and #2 to get a scholarship for running.

Even though her misogynistic coach refuses to train her in hurdles, she sneaks onto the track at 5 am every morning to train herself. - She hurdles in the dark. But the road to state finals is not easy. And like too many young athletes, he is sexually abused by a coach.

Elvira was ( and probably still is) an avid journaler and she sprinkles in copies of her handwritten entries throughout the book . She also includes lots of family pictures and photos of her competing.

Gonzales writes in her teenage voice without the perspectives she acquired through therapy as an adult, so it is very vulnerable yet accessible to teen readers. There is a long and detailed Afterword that follows up on people and events she writes about. It is especially important that she addresses the issues of sexual harassment, abuse and assault amongst athletes and their “trusted” coaches. It is very powerful and well cited.
Hurdles in the Dark My Story of Survival, Resilience, and Triumph will in bookstores in June, but is available for pre-order now.

3.5-4. This one is really hard to rate as a teacher. As a woman, I commend the author. This is an incredibly important book to write and put out into the world. I cannot Imagine the courage it took to do this. However, as a teacher of high school students, I can’t imagine using this in the classroom. Elvira is so brave and such an outstanding survivor. But, as a trusted adult I would never be comfortable encouraging students to read this because of the sexual abuse between coach and student. That also means it couldn’t be a lit circle or whole class novel either, it would be too much of a risk in to read in a high school community.