Unfavorable Odds

[Kim] details her unlikely journey from sidewalk acrobat to world-class gymnast and the inner tensions that developed along the way. After growing up in an all black neighborhood, she had to adapt to traveling in an affluent, mostly white world while receiving criticism from her old friends that perhaps she was changing and abandoning her roots. As if that weren’t enough, she was learning about athletic pressure—the physical and mental demands of training to compete at an Olympic level while trying to maintain good grades through high school and college.

…But this is not a book that is merely about problems, setbacks, and tough times in life. The exciting thing about this story is that Kim’s experiences provide answers. She talks passionately about finally finding her identity and security. She shows how she overcame some huge obstacles and how she won the battle against low self-esteem not by what she did but by whom she trusted.