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Bobek: The Wild One
She was the wild child of figure skating—graceful, rebellious, unforgettable. This is her story, in her own words.
Nicole Bobek didn't just skate. She soared, spiraled, and crashed in ways the world could never look away from. With a ponytail flying and a wink to the judges, she captivated audiences in the 1990s, redefining what it meant to be a figure skater. But behind the sequins and spotlight was a girl fighting battles far from the ice—battles with identity, expectations, addiction, and the crushing pressure to be perfect in a sport that demands nothing less.
Told in her unmistakable voice—honest, raw, defiant, and deeply human—BOBEK: THE WILD ONE is more than a memoir. It's a reckoning. From the cold early mornings at the rink to the dark nights of her public downfall, Nicole takes us on a journey through the highs of Olympic dreams and the lows of criminal charges and courtroom headlines. She doesn't flinch from the truth. She owns it.
This is the untold story of a skater who refused to be anyone but herself—and paid the price. But it's also a story of resilience, grace, and an unshakable love for the ice. Nicole Bobek's comeback isn't just about skating. It's about survival, and finally, peace.
Nicole Bobek didn't just skate. She soared, spiraled, and crashed in ways the world could never look away from. With a ponytail flying and a wink to the judges, she captivated audiences in the 1990s, redefining what it meant to be a figure skater. But behind the sequins and spotlight was a girl fighting battles far from the ice—battles with identity, expectations, addiction, and the crushing pressure to be perfect in a sport that demands nothing less.
Told in her unmistakable voice—honest, raw, defiant, and deeply human—BOBEK: THE WILD ONE is more than a memoir. It's a reckoning. From the cold early mornings at the rink to the dark nights of her public downfall, Nicole takes us on a journey through the highs of Olympic dreams and the lows of criminal charges and courtroom headlines. She doesn't flinch from the truth. She owns it.
This is the untold story of a skater who refused to be anyone but herself—and paid the price. But it's also a story of resilience, grace, and an unshakable love for the ice. Nicole Bobek's comeback isn't just about skating. It's about survival, and finally, peace.
464 pages, Hardcover
First published October 8, 2025
33 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 12, 2025
"Bobek: The Wild One" is a big, bold book. From the first page, Nicole makes it clear she's not here to polish her image or rewrite history. As she writes, "I know some people will read this and see me in a different light. Some might see me with more compassion. Others may not. And that's okay. I didn't write this to control how people see me. I wrote it so I could finally see myself -clearly, fully, without shame."
That honesty sets the tone for what follows: a candid, conversational, and deeply human story. Nicole doesn't flinch from the dark corners of her life - abuse, addiction or imprisonment - but she also doesn’t wallow. She calls a spade a spade but owns her mistakes. The result is a memoir that feels both raw and redemptive.
She writes with candor and compassion about those who helped her find her footing - Debbie Story, Barbara Roles, Robert Bradshaw, Frank Carroll, Carlo and Christa Fassi, and Kathy Casey among them — and isn’t afraid to be frank about those who didn’t. She aptly calls out opportunistic sportswriters like Christine Brennan, who she says painted her "like some kind of wild animal let loose on the ice. It didn’t matter how hard I worked or what was really going on in my life," Nicole recalled. "Her mind was made up. I was a 'character' in a story she was writing, most of the time airing on the side of fiction rather than journalism."
For skating fans, there’s plenty of fascinating tidbits to unpack. There’s an intriguing mention of a potential switch to pairs skating that was quashed by Mr. John Nicks, and a very interesting chapter on the Tonya and Nancy saga. Her reflections on Michelle Kwan's rise are particularly also insightful: "Maybe I should have resented her - or maybe people expected me to - but I didn’t. I admired her, even if I couldn’t say that out loud back then."
Nicole's tone is that of someone who's finally making peace with her story. It's impossible for anyone with a heart not to feel empathy for her journey. Knowing how the skating world can sometimes be, I couldn't help but wonder how much compassion some people would extend to her. I certainly had it.
If you take one thing away from "Bobek: The Wild One", it’s that people are complex, and people change. No one should be defined by the worst day of their lives, especially if it was over a decade ago. As Nicole’s story reminds us, skating teaches you one thing above all: when you fall, you get back up.
When I finished the final page, I wanted to give Nicole the biggest hug. This book was clearly cathartic for her - and it's a wonderful memoir for any reader who believes in the power of second chances.
That honesty sets the tone for what follows: a candid, conversational, and deeply human story. Nicole doesn't flinch from the dark corners of her life - abuse, addiction or imprisonment - but she also doesn’t wallow. She calls a spade a spade but owns her mistakes. The result is a memoir that feels both raw and redemptive.
She writes with candor and compassion about those who helped her find her footing - Debbie Story, Barbara Roles, Robert Bradshaw, Frank Carroll, Carlo and Christa Fassi, and Kathy Casey among them — and isn’t afraid to be frank about those who didn’t. She aptly calls out opportunistic sportswriters like Christine Brennan, who she says painted her "like some kind of wild animal let loose on the ice. It didn’t matter how hard I worked or what was really going on in my life," Nicole recalled. "Her mind was made up. I was a 'character' in a story she was writing, most of the time airing on the side of fiction rather than journalism."
For skating fans, there’s plenty of fascinating tidbits to unpack. There’s an intriguing mention of a potential switch to pairs skating that was quashed by Mr. John Nicks, and a very interesting chapter on the Tonya and Nancy saga. Her reflections on Michelle Kwan's rise are particularly also insightful: "Maybe I should have resented her - or maybe people expected me to - but I didn’t. I admired her, even if I couldn’t say that out loud back then."
Nicole's tone is that of someone who's finally making peace with her story. It's impossible for anyone with a heart not to feel empathy for her journey. Knowing how the skating world can sometimes be, I couldn't help but wonder how much compassion some people would extend to her. I certainly had it.
If you take one thing away from "Bobek: The Wild One", it’s that people are complex, and people change. No one should be defined by the worst day of their lives, especially if it was over a decade ago. As Nicole’s story reminds us, skating teaches you one thing above all: when you fall, you get back up.
When I finished the final page, I wanted to give Nicole the biggest hug. This book was clearly cathartic for her - and it's a wonderful memoir for any reader who believes in the power of second chances.
October 17, 2025
This is a very courageous book. I’m so glad Nicole—possibly more of an iconic skater than she may realize—got to tell her story.
Like other skating fans, in trying to guess who some of the unnamed skaters are.
It could have been edited better. There’s a lot of redundancy.
So, I’m giving the book 4 stars, but Nicole a 6.0 for writing it.
And I hope she realizes now that she’s just as legendary as Michelle Kwan or Nancy Kerrigan.
Scenes of this book may haunt me forever.
And the US federation, like most skating federations, is a mix of politics and bullshit. They put pressure on Michelle Kwan trying new things. She only skated “A Day in the Life” once or twice and then she was back to “East of Eden”—which is a masterpiece. But it was awful to watch Michelle and Frank Carroll give interviews like they liked both programs and either was fine with them.
No, US Skating wanted a very specific Michelle Kwan.
I don’t fan-girl out. I don’t hope authors will see my reviews and we’ll become BFFs…
We all know that US Figure Skating failed Nicole Bobek. We may not have seen all of it, but we knew they were failing her while they were failing her.
But we fans loved Nicole. Whether it was “Lara’s Theme,” which she owns, or her incredible Aretha Franklin medley…we were cheering and we didn’t forget them or her.
What I can’t stop thinking is maybe we failed her, too?
Like other skating fans, in trying to guess who some of the unnamed skaters are.
It could have been edited better. There’s a lot of redundancy.
So, I’m giving the book 4 stars, but Nicole a 6.0 for writing it.
And I hope she realizes now that she’s just as legendary as Michelle Kwan or Nancy Kerrigan.
Scenes of this book may haunt me forever.
And the US federation, like most skating federations, is a mix of politics and bullshit. They put pressure on Michelle Kwan trying new things. She only skated “A Day in the Life” once or twice and then she was back to “East of Eden”—which is a masterpiece. But it was awful to watch Michelle and Frank Carroll give interviews like they liked both programs and either was fine with them.
No, US Skating wanted a very specific Michelle Kwan.
I don’t fan-girl out. I don’t hope authors will see my reviews and we’ll become BFFs…
We all know that US Figure Skating failed Nicole Bobek. We may not have seen all of it, but we knew they were failing her while they were failing her.
But we fans loved Nicole. Whether it was “Lara’s Theme,” which she owns, or her incredible Aretha Franklin medley…we were cheering and we didn’t forget them or her.
What I can’t stop thinking is maybe we failed her, too?
January 4, 2026
My first impression of this memoir is that it is heavily ghost-written; although it is told in the first person, the Goodreads attribution "by Todd Fischer" is likely accurate.
The first part of Nicole's memoir is a fairly standard summary of childhood and adolescent involvement in the sport, although it is notable she had already accumulated an array of coaches before she reached her teenage years. This may have been adult decisions by her mother and Aunt Joyce (her mother's partner), rather than Nicole's own, and she makes it clear that money was always a consideration. Interspersed with this narrative are shorter, often more lyrical chapters detailing the US National Championships of 1995, the high point of Nicole's career. This pattern of interspersing more subjective short chapters for critical dates continues through the rest of the memoir.
Besides the account of the 1995 Nationals, Nicole also gives her own version of the criminal charges that were brought against her for home invasion. The incident took place before the Nationals, but the story did not surface in the press until the Birmingham Worlds, where it was seized upon by the British tabloids. Nicole tries to lay out mitigating circumstances, but at the end of the day she does admit that she entered the house (albeit using a garage key that had been given to her by a friend who was daughter of the house) and took some money (according to her, there were constantly large amounts of cash lying about in this house, and the younger generation had been in the habit of appropriating small amounts at need.) She tells about the outcome of the court case, but what strikes me is how the adults around her - her mother, her coach - protected her from the outcome of her actions; she never had to appear in court.
Nicole was invited on the Tom Collins tour in 1995, and this began a ten-year run, despite the fact that she never fulfilled the promise of that early Nationals win (she was only 17 in '95). She tells an interesting story of a gay skater who introduced her to the clubs in New York, and specifically to the gay subculture, where she felt supported though not herself gay. The skater is not named, but she says it was like a "glitter-bomb" backstage when he arrived to do occasional stops on the tour. Examination of programs from TOC '95 confirms it was most likely Toller Cranston.
Carlo Fassi's death in 1997 badly affected Nicole; of all the coaches in her story, he seems to have been the most like a father-figure to her.
Nicole expresses her gratitude for having had the Olympic experience in '98, even though the results were not as she hoped. She does, however, admit that turning pro (it didn't happen officially until 2000) was a great relief. Given the money worries alluded to in her childhood, she can be forgiven for being grateful that sponsorships made her quite dramatically rich, enough to buy houses for her mother and herself.
I found the next section of Nicole's memoir difficult - though not as difficult as she found her life, obviously. Still in her early 20s, her skating successes were behind her and she turned pro, skated in Collins' show for ten years (but was disappointed in the lack of recognition for that achievement), had a series of unsuccessful and sometimes violent relationships with men, and was personally deeply affected by the untimely death of her Aunt Joyce, who was as a mother to her, in 2002. In a section where she describes her life in New York, she is partly estranged from her grieving mother; she is deep in the night-life, and she gives a vivid account of her first encounter with crystal meth. This eventually led to another round in the courts. Again, Nicole concentrates on mitigating details.
The remainder of her story is a redemption arc, which included marriage and (eventually) motherhood, along with a lengthy relationship with circus life, and learning to perform in the lyra (the dangling hoop), a skill she used publicly in a Nancy Kerrigan skating show. She had a minor part in Sean Penn's movie "All the King's Men" as a seductive figure skater, but she is almost unrecognizable under a dark wig in the trailer. Unfortunately the marriage collapsed, so Nicole also tells us about life as a single mother. We conclude with her feelings as she signs the contract for the book in hand.
The narrative voice in this memoir is articulate, descriptive, emotionally astute and sometimes even poetic. What is unclear is how much of it is Nicole - how much of the insight is hers, and how much has been sympathetically added during the composition process by her co-authors. The tone does not track with Nicole's voice as we have heard it in interviews. "I exhaled and picked up the pen. It was a cheap ballpoint, the kind you find at the bottom of your purse next to gum wrappers and crumpled receipts. There was nothing ceremonial about it. But I pressed it to the paper and let the ink flow." This type of passage, common in the "major moments" interpolated chapters, seems to me as likely to be an embellishment of the ghost authors as Nicole's own observations. On the other hand, I have no doubt that the events, and the gradually increasing self-awareness she shows as she grows up, are Nicole's.
Nicole speaks at length and with emotion about the figure skating world in her final chapter. It's good to have her adult thoughts on it. Just as it gives her closure, so too it does for figure skating fans who admired her skating in her heyday.
The first part of Nicole's memoir is a fairly standard summary of childhood and adolescent involvement in the sport, although it is notable she had already accumulated an array of coaches before she reached her teenage years. This may have been adult decisions by her mother and Aunt Joyce (her mother's partner), rather than Nicole's own, and she makes it clear that money was always a consideration. Interspersed with this narrative are shorter, often more lyrical chapters detailing the US National Championships of 1995, the high point of Nicole's career. This pattern of interspersing more subjective short chapters for critical dates continues through the rest of the memoir.
Besides the account of the 1995 Nationals, Nicole also gives her own version of the criminal charges that were brought against her for home invasion. The incident took place before the Nationals, but the story did not surface in the press until the Birmingham Worlds, where it was seized upon by the British tabloids. Nicole tries to lay out mitigating circumstances, but at the end of the day she does admit that she entered the house (albeit using a garage key that had been given to her by a friend who was daughter of the house) and took some money (according to her, there were constantly large amounts of cash lying about in this house, and the younger generation had been in the habit of appropriating small amounts at need.) She tells about the outcome of the court case, but what strikes me is how the adults around her - her mother, her coach - protected her from the outcome of her actions; she never had to appear in court.
Nicole was invited on the Tom Collins tour in 1995, and this began a ten-year run, despite the fact that she never fulfilled the promise of that early Nationals win (she was only 17 in '95). She tells an interesting story of a gay skater who introduced her to the clubs in New York, and specifically to the gay subculture, where she felt supported though not herself gay. The skater is not named, but she says it was like a "glitter-bomb" backstage when he arrived to do occasional stops on the tour. Examination of programs from TOC '95 confirms it was most likely Toller Cranston.
Carlo Fassi's death in 1997 badly affected Nicole; of all the coaches in her story, he seems to have been the most like a father-figure to her.
Nicole expresses her gratitude for having had the Olympic experience in '98, even though the results were not as she hoped. She does, however, admit that turning pro (it didn't happen officially until 2000) was a great relief. Given the money worries alluded to in her childhood, she can be forgiven for being grateful that sponsorships made her quite dramatically rich, enough to buy houses for her mother and herself.
I found the next section of Nicole's memoir difficult - though not as difficult as she found her life, obviously. Still in her early 20s, her skating successes were behind her and she turned pro, skated in Collins' show for ten years (but was disappointed in the lack of recognition for that achievement), had a series of unsuccessful and sometimes violent relationships with men, and was personally deeply affected by the untimely death of her Aunt Joyce, who was as a mother to her, in 2002. In a section where she describes her life in New York, she is partly estranged from her grieving mother; she is deep in the night-life, and she gives a vivid account of her first encounter with crystal meth. This eventually led to another round in the courts. Again, Nicole concentrates on mitigating details.
The remainder of her story is a redemption arc, which included marriage and (eventually) motherhood, along with a lengthy relationship with circus life, and learning to perform in the lyra (the dangling hoop), a skill she used publicly in a Nancy Kerrigan skating show. She had a minor part in Sean Penn's movie "All the King's Men" as a seductive figure skater, but she is almost unrecognizable under a dark wig in the trailer. Unfortunately the marriage collapsed, so Nicole also tells us about life as a single mother. We conclude with her feelings as she signs the contract for the book in hand.
The narrative voice in this memoir is articulate, descriptive, emotionally astute and sometimes even poetic. What is unclear is how much of it is Nicole - how much of the insight is hers, and how much has been sympathetically added during the composition process by her co-authors. The tone does not track with Nicole's voice as we have heard it in interviews. "I exhaled and picked up the pen. It was a cheap ballpoint, the kind you find at the bottom of your purse next to gum wrappers and crumpled receipts. There was nothing ceremonial about it. But I pressed it to the paper and let the ink flow." This type of passage, common in the "major moments" interpolated chapters, seems to me as likely to be an embellishment of the ghost authors as Nicole's own observations. On the other hand, I have no doubt that the events, and the gradually increasing self-awareness she shows as she grows up, are Nicole's.
Nicole speaks at length and with emotion about the figure skating world in her final chapter. It's good to have her adult thoughts on it. Just as it gives her closure, so too it does for figure skating fans who admired her skating in her heyday.
November 14, 2025
Excellent book eye opening of her life.
October 17, 2025
Traditional format (digital) 📕
As a huge fan of figure skating (especially the 1990s era of US skating) I had to pick up this book as Bobek was one of the skaters I loved to see skate. She was the perfect mix of grace, power and had (has) the best spiral ever. After she dropped out of the competitive scene I didn't really follow her much so this book was super interesting to read to get her full story from then until present day.
From a memoir perspective you can feel all the feels with this one. You can feel all the emotions and Bobek really put her whole story out there trauma and all. I would have liked a little more about the skating at the start of the book but since this is her 40+ year story I see why it was just high level.
Now the big BUT.......I had some major issues with a few things about the writing/editing of the book. First off I don't know if this was just because I read the eBook but the timelines jumped all over the place and there were what I think are journal/interview/podcast entries throughout but in eBook format this is not obvious and hard to follow what is happening in an organized fashion. This leads to my next comment - WAY too much repetition throughout the entire book. This needed a LOT more editing in my opinion; there were many points from beginning to end where I thought I didn't turn the page on my ereader only to realize the exact same thing was said with slightly different words (but at times even the same ones - like the exact same phases!). I can be a little forgiving once or twice but it actually took away from my reading experience.
I would recommend this book to those skating fans of the Kerrigan/Harding/Kwan/Lipinski era of US skating. I give the emotion and telling of her story as a memoir a 5/5 but from a reading perspective I have to go with a final rating of 3/5 due to the editing/format of the book (and to be honest this is generous rounding up). With some better editing and removing the redundancies and fixing the timelines it would have made it shorter and more enjoyable to read and possibly would have allowed for more skating content to be incorporated into the same number of pages.
As a huge fan of figure skating (especially the 1990s era of US skating) I had to pick up this book as Bobek was one of the skaters I loved to see skate. She was the perfect mix of grace, power and had (has) the best spiral ever. After she dropped out of the competitive scene I didn't really follow her much so this book was super interesting to read to get her full story from then until present day.
From a memoir perspective you can feel all the feels with this one. You can feel all the emotions and Bobek really put her whole story out there trauma and all. I would have liked a little more about the skating at the start of the book but since this is her 40+ year story I see why it was just high level.
Now the big BUT.......I had some major issues with a few things about the writing/editing of the book. First off I don't know if this was just because I read the eBook but the timelines jumped all over the place and there were what I think are journal/interview/podcast entries throughout but in eBook format this is not obvious and hard to follow what is happening in an organized fashion. This leads to my next comment - WAY too much repetition throughout the entire book. This needed a LOT more editing in my opinion; there were many points from beginning to end where I thought I didn't turn the page on my ereader only to realize the exact same thing was said with slightly different words (but at times even the same ones - like the exact same phases!). I can be a little forgiving once or twice but it actually took away from my reading experience.
I would recommend this book to those skating fans of the Kerrigan/Harding/Kwan/Lipinski era of US skating. I give the emotion and telling of her story as a memoir a 5/5 but from a reading perspective I have to go with a final rating of 3/5 due to the editing/format of the book (and to be honest this is generous rounding up). With some better editing and removing the redundancies and fixing the timelines it would have made it shorter and more enjoyable to read and possibly would have allowed for more skating content to be incorporated into the same number of pages.
November 13, 2025
A very honest book by Nicole Bobek. She has a ton of insight yet not claiming to have all the answers. I really enjoyed her perspective on things. She has always been one of my favorite skaters.
October 11, 2025
I enjoyed this book very much, except for the almost constant incomplete sentences. Also I wish that it didn't jump around in time.
October 15, 2025
I enjoyed reading Nicole's story but as a figure skater who has also been through addiction, my heart wept for her while reading about that part of her life. I am grateful that she agreed to share with us.
A note for the authors--I never want to read the words "Raw" or "Wild" again. You have used those words beyond their limit in this book, please consider yourselves fired from ever using those words again.
A note for the authors--I never want to read the words "Raw" or "Wild" again. You have used those words beyond their limit in this book, please consider yourselves fired from ever using those words again.
November 11, 2025
What A Ride
I did not expect such a heartfelt and painful yet inspirational memoir. Nicole's story really made me relive her vulnerability and strength through her journey of skating and life.
She really experienced the highs and !ows of her life to the fullest - I really admire her bravery and honesty in telling her story!
I did not expect such a heartfelt and painful yet inspirational memoir. Nicole's story really made me relive her vulnerability and strength through her journey of skating and life.
She really experienced the highs and !ows of her life to the fullest - I really admire her bravery and honesty in telling her story!
October 23, 2025
Jay813
I remember watching Nicole skate & she was so talented & memorizing. Her downfall was shocking & in this book she pulls no punches. From winning a gold medal at Nationals to falling into drug use, Nicole tells it all. A must read for ice skating fans.
I remember watching Nicole skate & she was so talented & memorizing. Her downfall was shocking & in this book she pulls no punches. From winning a gold medal at Nationals to falling into drug use, Nicole tells it all. A must read for ice skating fans.
October 31, 2025
Nicole’s story is worth the read, I would give it 4.5 stars if I could rate it separately. But this book is very poorly written. Things repeated/duplicated, places where it sounds like it was downloaded from an interview and not rewritten for reading, highly overused stylized writing choice of choppy sentences, verrrrry flowery descriptions, and lots and lots of vamping and filler. If this had been written by a competent writer and properly edited, it would be about 60% shorter.
We’re all rooting for you, Nicole.
But you deserved better.
We’re all rooting for you, Nicole.
But you deserved better.
November 3, 2025
Nicole has a very compelling story, but the writing was so bad that it made it a very dificult read. Way too long, way too many unnecessary details, way too much repetition. Also, it was inexcusable that they had the wrong year for the tragic plane crash that took the lives of so many skaters, coaches, and famlies this past January.
October 14, 2025
It was interesting to read because I realized I knew very little about Nicole Bobek but SO much repetition. How many times did you need to say that you were non-rule following, skating for passion, not money etc etc. It felt like every chapter was the same.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews