Forward: A Memoir

Loved how candid and personal Abby was with her book. This well written, articulate and moving story is both inspirational and motivational for those seeking self introspection and trust in one's self.

I waited up until midnight for this book to download I am such a fan of Abby's that I built a pedestal in my mind of how I wanted to be as brave as her. And not knowing all the struggles Abby was going through the last few years believe it or not all the struggles I've been going through her confidence her spirit gave me hope in life to know that someone has the passion to fight for themselves and others. This is an amazing book at the end I was crying for I feel even with lost you can find so much to gain in finding yourself again. I wish Sarah and Abby would have found there way back to each other but in the end I wish them peace and love.
Thank you for sharing your story, as always

Although I admire Abby Wambach's honesty in writing this book and being so forthcoming about her faults and struggles, I also felt sorry for her and how she had to fight her demons. The book is a bit self centered and the ending pretty simplistic. She has a long way to go to keep her addiction and the reasons for it at bay. Although it's great she's gotten to this point, she doesn't seem to recognize that she has only made baby steps so far. I wish her luck and hope to hear that she has succeeded in becoming a person she herself is proud of.

Good read though not much depth. Felt like it was thrown together at the last minute without much research or digging into her past. Glosses over the issues that obviously were a negative effect on her life and career. Would have been a lot better read to hear more about why she was destroying herself in the way she was - but an overall average read.

Decent in terms of understanding these professional athletes are a different bread of human. They perform and play hard on the field and then when down time arrives they struggle to find the balance. A quick read, that was interesting.

While I admire Abby's accomplishments, her love of the game, and her athletic ability, this book left me wondering why it's gotten high reviews. I felt it was very superficial in content and lacking in insight, especially in regard to her personal relationships. If you want to learn a little about sports injuries, a little about alcohol and prescription drug dependency, and a little about the salary disparities between women and men in professional sports, you might enjoy this book. Unfortunately, I did not. Writing a full teaching book about how to actually play the game from the perspective of a coach would probably be more helpful to young girls and boys who aspire to become better soccer players.

A really, really good read. What I find truly amazing is that many of us look at these up to top athletes and their seemingly glitzy existance and are quite envious. We push ourselves to emulate their performance levels and in a way wish to 'own that same stage'. And then the
glimpse into what lies behind all that and its a whole new ball game.
This is a great reality check and I admire Abby for putting herself out there. A lot can be learned by youngsters reading this memoir. For any individual to achieve greatness in one aspect of their existence, other/another aspect must suffer. Again, great read.

Ms Wanbach should have waited for awhile, before writing this book. It was interesting to see the inside of professional women's sports, though. I hope she writes another book when she is really well!

Confronting the truth is hard and Abby does exactly that in her book by Confronting her demons and sharing for everyone to see. I wish her the best in her journey in love and in life. Thank you for sharing and I hope this helps someone who is struggling with their own demons.

I imagine it took courage to write and release this book. As a soccer fan--and player for over 30 years--I would not have guessed that she suffered from addiction. Clearly, many professional athletes and famous people are plagued by similar afflictions, so I'm not sure why I was surprised to read how extreme the problems became. She is a bit narcissistic--maybe all famous people are. She certainly has an opportunity to contribute to the world of soccer differently in retirement and it would be interesting to read a follow up book if she does.

BE WARNED: For those of you with daughters who play soccer, I would suggest you read the book FIRST. Sex, drugs, alcohol, irresponsible behavior and bad language abound. Its not offensive in any way-I think it was rather authentically portrayed--but its certainly not appropriate for my 10 year old. My daughter and I will see Abby at a speaking event and book signing--I'm glad I read the book ahead of time and will save it until my daughter is a bit older. It does have some good messages along with the brutal honesty.

I purchased this book for my 11 year old daughter as she is a huge fan of the women's National team. A few chapters in she told me that she felt uncomfortable with some of the content, so I asked her to stop reading until I had a chance to read it myself. While the book is very engaging and Abby has many life lessons to share, I believe the content in this book is not appropriate for young readers. I would rate this book for mature audiences.

At breakneck speed, this autobiography takes us from Wambach's childhood, clamoring for attention as the youngest of seven children through her college and pro soccer career, numerous relationships and breakups and injuries. Her adult years, she claims, were spent alternating between intense athletic training and competition and massive abuse of alcohol and drugs until a DUI arrest in April 2016 sent her to rock bottom and all has been a rosy garden path of blossoming self awareness since them.

She wraps up the account in a far-too-tidy bow, claiming that after her arrest she stopped drugs and drinking cold turkey and won't ever drink again. That should ring a massive alert bell for anyone familiar with the process of addiction and recovery. Her arrest was in early April 2016. The book concludes in early July -- only three months later. At the time of her arrest, she claims to have regularly been drinking up to a half gallon of vodka a day, washed down with a handful of Vicodin and Ambien, sometimes throwing in caffeine pills, her marriage was falling apart and she was struggling to find a meaning in life after retiring from soccer ... essentially her full time career since she was five years old.

Now in early July, she paints a picture of serenity as she jogs through the streets of Paris while covering a European soccer tournament for television (a performance that she fails to admit was universally panned.) She's in the middle of a divorce. The dream house she bought and renovated with her wife is on the market. She has no real job other than some college speaking engagements and the faltering broadcast stints. And she's three months sober, apparently without the benefit of any kind of rehab, formal therapy, or 12-step group. This is not the story of a woman who has moved on from crisis. This is a story written mid-crisis on multiple fronts with no awareness that the worst may yet be ahead of her.

I'm afraid this is not the last we will hear about Abby Wambach and her struggles.

Abby Wambach has always been one of my favorite athletes. After reading this book my view of her has changed a bit. I want to appreciate her honesty and vulnerability but she comes across as someone who takes her success for granted. I had no idea she has such struggles with alcohol and painkillers. My nieces both play soccer and they adore her so it would break my heart to have them find out that she was an addict the whole time she was playing. I kind of wish I hadn't read this book as my whole view of her is somewhat diminished now:( it's a very honest and open read and well written but took a bit of the shine off her for me and I hate that

I read this book in two days; I absolutely couldn't put it down!

I give Abby so much credit for her brutal honesty. She tells both sides of her story- the amazing rise to elite stardom in the soccer world, and the crashing fall that came with feeling her worth was tied to her sports performance. I have so much respect for the way Abby wrote with vulnerability and candor. Thank you, Abby, for being so brave and so honest. You have inspired me. I don't know Abby personally, and am not even a soccer follower (unless you count my son's club league!) but she won my heart in this captivating story of her life. You are a true bad a$$, Abby! And you are indeed lovable.

This book was 10x better than what I was expecting, and I was expecting a lot. I've loved and have looked up to Abby Wambach for the past 10 years. She was everything I wanted to be as far as being a professional female athlete with a very successful career. After reading this book, I have so much more respect and admiration for her than before. She was so open and real and honest in this book. From the way she felt to the choices she made; she was completely transparent. She talked about the hard things and embarrassing things such as alcohol and substance abuse as well as a failing marriage. She talked about the important things, like the healthy relationships and friendships she has that have helped her to get sober and stay sober. She also talked about the current things, like the wage gap and the discrimination of women in sports. Highly recommend this book. She was open and honest about the highs and lows of being a female professional athlete breaking down barriers while trying to not break down herself.

I bought this book today around 9 this morning and spent the rest of my day reading it. Reading this book and learning more about her private and public triumphs and faults from her POV was amazing. It brings you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. You feel the pressure of gravity going up the steep incline when you learn about how she struggled with her addictions and seeing how and when it developed into a major problem. Then enjoy the weightlessness of the plunge when she explains her thoughts before and after amazing events like the outstanding goal against Brazil. This book is filled with these moments, some extremely private and moments we all know too well and I would highly recommend this book to anyone. Even if you dislike her, this book will explain a lot about why she is the person we know now and what led up to the decisions she has made.

This was a very powerful memoir due to its honesty, but I found it a bit confusing, as well. Wambach seems to do her best attempting to assist the reader understand what she has done and why she did it, I still have questions. It seems that if you're going to go for it, then I think you should be all in. I'm not suggesting that Wambach share any details that might harm another person, but I was left feeling somewhat manipulated and off-balance, as if her life was my business, but yet it wasn't, which made for a somewhat uncomfortable reading experience. With this said, I do applaud that she revealed as much as she did, which I can personally relate to since I lived in the same suburb she grew up as a young person in and attended the same high school, albeit 15 years before she did. I was in the crowd when she scored her 100th goal in Rochester! Thank you for a compelling attempt to invite us into your story.

Abby Wambach tells the story of her life and soccer career and reveals how intricately the two are interwoven with a serious drug & alcohol problem. The writing is quite good in the beginning, but becomes tiresome as it gets closer to present day. There are many verbatim texts and emails that with a little distance, could have been reduced to a sentence or two. The drunk-a-log is also tedious. In the plotline about her marriage there are many references to "it" or "the problems" but she never reveals any details. The book includes an (important) section on the unjustifiably small amount of money women athletes are paid, yet she burns through a tremendous amount of cash throughout the book. I assume her money is from endorsements or family money, but it contradicts her claim that women get paid less, and should have been explained.

The book attempts to lead us to a conclusion that her DUI was a turning point in her life. But, her epiphany and new commitment to sobriety lacks credibility. It would have been more compelling had she waited until she had a year or two of being clean.

I read the book because I'm a big fan of AW and of women's sports in general. I don't begrudge her the space to tell her story, even if it's not a particularly inspiring one. She earned that right. But, the best thing about the book is the rally cry to change treatment and pay for women in sports. I wish the book had been more about that. And, of course, for her own sake, and for the girls and women who see her as a role model, I hope the sobriety - this one or another one - does stick.

This book is not really about soccer, which I like. Although I loved Wambach as a player, I feel we knew her as one and I wanted the 'behind the scenes'. Wambach does an amazing job of of making you feel like you're there with her. She gives every detail about the topic she's covering, whether it be her world cup experience, or her marriage falling apart. Still some mysteries to her, but if you're a fan of hers this book will not let you down.

Despite my 2 star ranking, I read the entire book. I have no doubt that Abby Wambach is an incredibly gifted athlete but as a role model, I'm not convinced. Interesting how she saved verbatim all her inspirational missives to her teammates. Did they really need to hear from her to be inspired and motivated to play hard? Her ego and personality take up so much space that her teammates, while undoubtedly disappointed that their star player was out with an injury, were probably happy at the same time that there was now room for the rest of them. After reading the book, I still didn't understand the self-destructive path she chose other than attributing her flareups (or excessive neediness) to coinciding to times when her enormous ego was not being adequately fed. I don't know why I read the whole book other than it was an easy read and I was hoping something would change. It's too soon to tell if the DUI was really an epiphany. Bottom line, I didn't learn anything from this book but was left wondering what her teammates really thought of her.

Saw all the reviews and was anticipating a great book...but I was, instead, greatly disappointed. If I wanted every chapter to be another replay of a game, I was better off watching it on YouTube! And this memoir showed NO detail into the troubled relationship with her mother, which would've been beneficial for LGBT youth of today. Since she is now openly gay, people perceive this to be helpful, but it does nothing of the sort! I'm an avid reader of many athlete's memoirs and this was a huge waste of my time. I had to stop reading it.

This was a decent read. Abby made many mistakes throughout her life...just like everyone else. After her DUI, she seemed to want to be a better person...without alcohol and pills. By the end of the book, Abby gives the reader hope that she will do this.