A sports reporter investigates the training of girls as professional gymnasts and figure skaters, arguing that the pressure to succeed and to look beautiful results in mental and physical harm, from eating disorders to psychological trauma.

From baseball to biology, an award-winning journalist highlights the power of team chemistry in this "terrific" data-driven investigation of human relationships (Billie Jean King).Does team chemistry actually exist? Is there scientific or mathematical proof? Is team chemistry as real and relevant as on-base percentages and wins above replacement?In Joan Ryan's groundbreaking book we discover that the answer to all of the above is a resounding yes. ...

New York Times Bestseller“An ideal Father’s Day present...It’s this year’s baseball book most likely to be made into a terrific movie.” —The Chicago Tribune“Affecting...A simply told, deeply moving story, quite unlike the usual baseball book.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)A baseball rules book. A tape measure. A lottery ticket.

Both a medical drama and meditation on motherhood, The Water Giver is Joan Ryan's honest account of her doubts and mistakes in raising a learning-disabled son and the story of how his near-fatal accident gave her a second chance as a parent.Joan Ryan tells the powerful story of how her son’s near-fatal accident, and his struggle to become whole again, gave her a second chance to become the mother she had always wished she could be.• Acclaimed journ...

Joan Ryan and her research team have carefully documented Dogrib traditional justice as it has been practised over the past century. Relying upon information received from the elders of Lac La Martre, Northwest Territories, they have unearthed a sophisticated body of Dogrib law, the understanding of which has important implications for contemporary ways in which the Dogrib people and the department of justice can deal with social control.The material is organized and presented in a...

This study marks a major step in making collaboration between seniors, academic researchers, and community researchers a reality. Many aging adults are motivated to undertake research projects in later life or even return to university after retirement. Grey Matters is the result of a pilot project developed to study the effectiveness of collaborative research involving seniors. Because the project was such a success, the authors were encouraged to make their model available both to senior...

From baseball to biology, an award-winning journalist highlights the power of team chemistry in this "terrific" data-driven investigation of human relationships (Billie Jean King).Does team chemistry actually exist? Is there scientific or mathematical proof? Is team chemistry as real and relevant as on-base percentages and wins above replacement?In Joan Ryan's groundbreaking book we discover that the answer to all of the above is a resounding yes. ...

Welcome to the world of women's gymnastics and figure skating—the real world that happens away from the cameras, at the training camps and in the private lives of these talented teenage competitors. From starvation diets and debilitating injuries to the brutal tactics of tyrannical gymnastics guru Béla Károlyi, Little Girls in Pretty Boxes portrays the horrors endured by girls at the hands of their coaches and sometimes their own families—and is now updated with a new introduction...

The inspiring true story of the poor Puerto Rican factory worker, Benjamin Molina Santana, who against all odds raised the greatest baseball dynasty of all time: Molina's three sons Bengie, Jose, and Yadier have each earned two World Series rings, which is unprecedented in the sport, and his story is told by one of them, Bengie.A baseball rules book. A tape measure. A lottery ticket. These were in the pocket of Bengie Molina's father when he died of a heart attack on the rutted Lit...

The Randolphs is the sequel to Household Puzzles, and opens shortly after the previous book ends. It follows the "leadings of the Randolph family", as Tom puts it in the last chapter. Helen's discontent with life, Grace's ill-matched engagement, and Maria's self-sufficiency -- how God works all of it out despite the stubbornness of the participants.

Updated With a New Introduction"I am grateful to Jennifer Sey for sharing such an honest account of her experiences as an elite gymnast. She has eloquently and fairly exposed a dark side to our sport that parents have long needed to be made aware of."—Dominique Moceanu, Olympic Gold Medal Winning GymnastFanciful dreams of becoming the next Nadia Comaneci led Jennifer Sey to become a gymnast at the age of six. Her early success propelled her family t...

A “delightful and insightful” (The Wall Street Journal) account of the controversial world of gymnastics and its scoring system, which has propelled powerful and athletic American gymnasts to the top of the sport.It was the team finals of women’s gymnastics in the 2012 London Olympics and McKayla Maroney was on top of her game. The sixteen-year-old US gymnast was performing arguably the best vault of all time, launching herself unimaginably high into the a...