It finally arrived at my local B&N, after I put in an order for it two weeks ago. 
Am halfway through it, couldn't put it down, am only taking a minor break to share with others because, honestly, if you haven't read it yet I highly recommend you do so. Not only as a figure skating fan, but also as a human being, especially if you are insightful, empathetic, enjoy beauty, love to learn, and want to know what it is truly like behind the scenes.
Lucinda doesn't hold back, she bleeds, and opens her heart & soul in only the way she can.
Seriously, if you're expecting a book that's like all the other figure skating books I've read over the years, you're going to be surprised because it's nothing like them. She writes the way she spins ~ beautifully, poetically, like an artist painting a picture.
Lol, at first I didn't get it and thought she rambled a bit at the very beginning, but then it was like reading from the skin inside out, kinda like that movie "The Lover". Not literally, lol, but in the way that she writes...
She never mentions names, but she doesn't need to, if you are a figure skating fan you know whom she is describing.
And she never blames anybody, just herself, interestingly enough. But then again I'm not surprised, even on the ice she has always seemed to possess a gentle sensitive spirit, with a backbone made of titanium, but underneath very fragile.
Of course a young woman that speaks 6 languages, has lived all over the world, excelled academically & in the arts, whose favorite subject is math, and who lived in Japan from the age of 4 to 17 (among other fascinating facts), of course I should have expected something unique, but yet she manages to surprise me each time I turn a new page.
I may differ in my view on a few things that she says, but that's nothing new, the same goes here on these boards, lol, but I applaud her for being totally open & honest, and most especially being willing to share her first hand account of what it was like to be a figure skater in Japan. Oops, scratch that, an "Alien Barbie" in Japan, which was how she was described by many Japanese. For shedding light on that mysterious world, where most importantly one needs to "save face".
That's just part of her story, there is her time spent in France (as a very young child), Mexico, the USA, China, her troubles with the Swiss F.S. Federation, the physical & mental abuse, her travels on the Trans-Siberian Train, their stop off in Russia circa 1988, her decision to choose figure skating instead of ballet despite receiving an offer from the Royal Ballet of London at age 7, and on & on & on.
Now I'm going to finish this most fascinating book, but before I do so I want to thank Lucinda "light from the heavens" for sharing her story, for opening herself up to the whole world, knowing that there will be critics, but being courageous enough to do so anyway, for wanting to help others, and most importantly to keep her promise to God.
Thank You, Lucinda Ruh!
Am halfway through it, couldn't put it down, am only taking a minor break to share with others because, honestly, if you haven't read it yet I highly recommend you do so. Not only as a figure skating fan, but also as a human being, especially if you are insightful, empathetic, enjoy beauty, love to learn, and want to know what it is truly like behind the scenes.
Lucinda doesn't hold back, she bleeds, and opens her heart & soul in only the way she can.
Seriously, if you're expecting a book that's like all the other figure skating books I've read over the years, you're going to be surprised because it's nothing like them. She writes the way she spins ~ beautifully, poetically, like an artist painting a picture.
Lol, at first I didn't get it and thought she rambled a bit at the very beginning, but then it was like reading from the skin inside out, kinda like that movie "The Lover". Not literally, lol, but in the way that she writes...
She never mentions names, but she doesn't need to, if you are a figure skating fan you know whom she is describing.
And she never blames anybody, just herself, interestingly enough. But then again I'm not surprised, even on the ice she has always seemed to possess a gentle sensitive spirit, with a backbone made of titanium, but underneath very fragile.Of course a young woman that speaks 6 languages, has lived all over the world, excelled academically & in the arts, whose favorite subject is math, and who lived in Japan from the age of 4 to 17 (among other fascinating facts), of course I should have expected something unique, but yet she manages to surprise me each time I turn a new page.
I may differ in my view on a few things that she says, but that's nothing new, the same goes here on these boards, lol, but I applaud her for being totally open & honest, and most especially being willing to share her first hand account of what it was like to be a figure skater in Japan. Oops, scratch that, an "Alien Barbie" in Japan, which was how she was described by many Japanese. For shedding light on that mysterious world, where most importantly one needs to "save face".
That's just part of her story, there is her time spent in France (as a very young child), Mexico, the USA, China, her troubles with the Swiss F.S. Federation, the physical & mental abuse, her travels on the Trans-Siberian Train, their stop off in Russia circa 1988, her decision to choose figure skating instead of ballet despite receiving an offer from the Royal Ballet of London at age 7, and on & on & on.
Now I'm going to finish this most fascinating book, but before I do so I want to thank Lucinda "light from the heavens" for sharing her story, for opening herself up to the whole world, knowing that there will be critics, but being courageous enough to do so anyway, for wanting to help others, and most importantly to keep her promise to God.
Thank You, Lucinda Ruh!
I'll never forget her "Jungle" or "Jungle Rhythms" routine she did way back in 1994/95. It used to be on youtube, but no more. She was wearing a bright red bodysuit and that ending "headless scratch spin" was simply unbelieveable. To this day I'm not sure who spins faster ~ Lucinda or Denise? No matter, I love them both. But that said, Sasha Cohen also deserves 1st prize as well, she was not only super super fast but also her best positions were simply the best in the biz, even today. 
Ahh, I pity none are named after her as well. My favorite being the one she did when she was skating to "Swan Lake" in a pro/am I think? Whatever the case, I will never forget the forward scratch spin she did with an unusual double-jointed position wherein she grabbed one of her arms from behind her and somehow managed to hold it like that while she was clocking 1G per revolution most likely. 
