Shannon Miller: My Child, My Hero
Shannon Miller has truly lived the American Dream-its drama and disappointment, its hope and joy. Written by her mother, this profusely illustrated story of Shannon’s journey to Olympic fame is also the portrait of a family working together to help a child achieve a difficult, challenging goal.\ The ultimate thrill for an athlete is to stand on a podium and, with the world as witness, to accept an Olympic medal. In Shannon Miller: My Child, My Hero, Claudia Miller helps us understand the...
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Shannon Miller has truly lived the American Dream - its drama and disappointment, its hope and joy. Written by her mother, this profusely illustrated story of Shannon's journey to Olympic fame is also the portrait of a family working together to help a child achieve a difficult, challenging goal. We journey with the Miller family through Shannon's training and achievements, struggles and injuries, to her dramatic comeback. In the 1992 Olympics, she won five medals. And in 1996, despite media declarations that she was no longer competitive, Shannon performed brilliantly - leading the women's gymnastics team to first place and winning a gold medal for her performance on the balance beam. We also come to understand the strength of faith and the sense of pride, dedication, and commitment that move Shannon to share her success through charitable work and community service, and we learn more about how to love and nurture the "heros" within our own children. Kendra Nordin This book wavers between a biography of Shannon Miller, Olympic athlete, and an autobiography of Claudia Miller, mother of an Olympic athlete....Miller inspires an awe-filled wonder that one so young could have achieved such athletic heights. Nothing beats a true story of triumph. —The Christian Science Monitor
\ Kendra NordinThis book wavers between a biography of Shannon Miller, Olympic athlete, and an autobiography of Claudia Miller, mother of an Olympic athlete....Miller inspires an awe-filled wonder that one so young could have achieved such athletic heights. Nothing beats a true story of triumph. —The Christian Science Monitor\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalShannon Miller, multi-medal-winning gymnast at both the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympics, is the subject of this memoir written by her mother. While such a book could have become overbearing, Miller is instead gracious toward rivals, teammates, and the many who helped Shannon and temperate when discussing spats with coaches. In Kerri Strug's autobiography Landing on My Feet (LJ 11/1/97), readers came to understand a gymnast's terrific drive and sacrifices. In this book, we see how these sacrifices can affect an athlete's parents and siblings. Also interesting are the Millers' religious beliefs--as Christian Scientists, mother and daughter used prayer and the writings of Mary Baker Eddy to make decisions, even medical ones. Despite Shannon's fame and achievements, there is not a trace of superiority complex here. A solid addition to gymnastics collections in public libraries.--Kathryn Ruffle, Coll. of New Caledonia Lib., Prince George, BC\ \ \ Kendra NordinThis book wavers between a biography of Shannon Miller, Olympic athlete, and an autobiography of Claudia Miller, mother of an Olympic athlete....Miller inspires an awe-filled wonder that one so young could have achieved such athletic heights. Nothing beats a true story of triumph.\ — The Christian Science Monitor\ \ \ \ \ Kirkus ReviewsA proud and devoted mother's overdone portrait of her celebrated gymnast daughter's trials and triumphs. Claudia Miller relates her daughter's progress from jungle-gym-climbing toddler to leader of the first US women's gymnastic team to bring home the Olympic gold. For those who don't know a double twisting Yurchenko from a piked full twisting double back, the particulars of Shannon Miller's gymnastic feats in innumerable competitions quickly become tedious. Of more interest to parents of an exceptional child is the story of the Miller family's efforts to keep one daughter's striking success from having negative effects on her older sister and younger brother. With Shannon's success came tension between her parents and her controlling and demanding coach (by this time, Claudia Miller had trained to become a gymnastics judge, and some second-guessing of the coach was probably inevitable) and difficult decisions concerning agents and money. Recurrent injuries were another problem, especially since the author is a Christian Scientist and her husband a Baptist; for Shannon, Christian Science practitioners and prayer were combined with consultations with physicians, medical treatments, surgery, and physical therapy as needed. Rather surprisingly, Miller barely mentions the controversial weight issue in her discussions of her daughter's health, despite the fact that at age 15 Shannon weighed only 76 pounds. Even allowing for motherly prejudice, the portrait of the young gymnast that emerges is one any parent would be proud of: an outstanding athlete who is also a top student, and someone who makes exceptional demands on herself but is at the same time thoughtful and considerate of others.As an Olympic gymnast, Shannon Miller had the eyes of the world on her, but this overly technical treatment won't put her on the bestseller podium where fellow gymnast Dominique Moceanu once stood. (8 color, 42 b&w illustrations, not seen) .\ \
