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Open Heart, Open Mind
The long-awaited memoir by Canada’s most celebrated Olympian and advocate for mental health.
In 2006, when Clara Hughes stepped onto the Olympic podium in Torino, Italy, she became the first and only athlete ever to win multiple medals in both Summer and Winter Games. Four years later, she was proud to carry the Canadian flag at the head of the Canadian team as they participated in the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. But there’s another story behind her celebrated career as an athlete, behind her signature billboard smile.
While most professional athletes devote their entire lives to training, Clara spent her teenage years using drugs and drinking to escape the stifling home life her alcoholic father had created in Elmwood, Winnipeg. She was headed nowhere fast when, at sixteen, she watched transfixed in her living room as gold medal speed skater Gaétan Boucher effortlessly raced in the 1988 Calgary Olympics. Dreaming of one day competing herself, Clara channeled her anger, frustration, and raw ambition into the endurance sports of speed skating and cycling. By 2010, she had become a six-time Olympic champion.
But after more than a decade in the grueling world of professional sports that stripped away her confidence and bruised her body, Clara began to realize that her physical extremes, her emotional setbacks, and her partying habits were masking a severe depression. After winning bronze in the last speed skating race of her career, she decided to retire, determined to repair herself. She has emerged as one of our most committed humanitarians, advocating for a variety of social causes both in Canada and around the world. In 2010, she became national spokesperson for Bell Canada’s Let’s Talk campaign in support of mental health awareness, using her Olympic standing to share the positive message of the power of forgiveness.
Told with honesty and passion, Open Heart, Open Mind is Clara’s personal journey through physical and mental pain to a life where love and understanding can thrive. This revelatory and inspiring story will touch the hearts of readers everywhere.
In 2006, when Clara Hughes stepped onto the Olympic podium in Torino, Italy, she became the first and only athlete ever to win multiple medals in both Summer and Winter Games. Four years later, she was proud to carry the Canadian flag at the head of the Canadian team as they participated in the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. But there’s another story behind her celebrated career as an athlete, behind her signature billboard smile.
While most professional athletes devote their entire lives to training, Clara spent her teenage years using drugs and drinking to escape the stifling home life her alcoholic father had created in Elmwood, Winnipeg. She was headed nowhere fast when, at sixteen, she watched transfixed in her living room as gold medal speed skater Gaétan Boucher effortlessly raced in the 1988 Calgary Olympics. Dreaming of one day competing herself, Clara channeled her anger, frustration, and raw ambition into the endurance sports of speed skating and cycling. By 2010, she had become a six-time Olympic champion.
But after more than a decade in the grueling world of professional sports that stripped away her confidence and bruised her body, Clara began to realize that her physical extremes, her emotional setbacks, and her partying habits were masking a severe depression. After winning bronze in the last speed skating race of her career, she decided to retire, determined to repair herself. She has emerged as one of our most committed humanitarians, advocating for a variety of social causes both in Canada and around the world. In 2010, she became national spokesperson for Bell Canada’s Let’s Talk campaign in support of mental health awareness, using her Olympic standing to share the positive message of the power of forgiveness.
Told with honesty and passion, Open Heart, Open Mind is Clara’s personal journey through physical and mental pain to a life where love and understanding can thrive. This revelatory and inspiring story will touch the hearts of readers everywhere.
228 pages, Hardcover
First published September 8, 2015
53 people are currently reading
1574 people want to read
About the author
Clara Hughes
7 books33 followersSix-time Olympic medalist Clara Hughes became the only athlete to win multiple medals in both the Summer and Winter Games. She is a member of the Order of Manitoba and an officer of the Order of Canada, has received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, and was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Hughes is the national spokesperson for Bell Canada’s Let’s Talk initiative, a campaign dedicated to breaking down the stigma of mental health. In 2014, she was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross, which recognizes those whose outstanding personal commitment has brought honour to Canada. She lives with her husband, Peter, in Canmore, Alberta, and continues to enjoy bike touring and hiking.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 221 reviews
June 19, 2016
Canadian Olympian Clara Hughes offers readers a look at the woman behind the name, digging deeper than the strength and determination for which she was so well known. In this quasi-autobiography/memoir, Hughes offers a glimpse into her life as an elite athlete as well as the struggles she faced throughout her career. Growing up in Winnipeg, Hughes faced a number of obstacles at an early age, including an alcoholic father whose love was offset with a broken household. From this, Hughes drifted into a childhood filled with gang associations, drugs, and booze, a life that could have spiralled into despair. It was only when she caught a speed skating race from the Calgary Olympics in 1988 that Hughes became enthralled by a new possibility, a life as an athlete. Training for a few years, Hughes was able to find her passion at the speed skating oval and left the instability of her current life behind. She found herself intoxicated with the regimented life of skating and the power of the blade, where she could escape her home life, her parents now formally separated. However, this passion with speed skating soon morphed into a love of cycling, which became Hughes' new focus. She took up competitive cycling and made a name for herself, competing at the highest levels. With this intense training came a coach whose unorthodox style pushed Hughes past her limits and into a life of self-doubt. Mockery and bullying may have pushed Hughes to strive further, but also left her hating herself and doubting the love others had to offer. The passion Hughes found on her bicycle led her to qualifying and winning a bronze at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. While she became a praised Olympian, Hughes began to develop (or rediscover) some painful issues that resulted in severe bouts of depression, masked behind that cutthroat training regimen that left little time for reflection. While she continued to excel in the cycling world, her exterior self became a facade, as Hughes recounts through poignant chapters hinting at dark demons dwelling deep inside her. When she met her future husband, Peter, Hughes found someone with whom she could relate; another person whose carefree nature and drive to excel led to numerous exploratory adventures. While separated a great deal, Hughes was able to foster a relationship with Peter, fuelled, perhaps, by their time apart. After a decade of cycling and much success on the podium, Hughes could no longer fathom the gruelling life of countless injuries. This caused her to rediscover her passion for speed skating, and a coaching approach based more on respect than attack. With a coach who respected her dedication to success, Hughes was able to focus her attention on what she felt mattered, while still using training to mask her other issues. Hughes excelled on the oval and brought more medals home, the first Canadian to medal in both Summer and Winter Olympic Games. However, with such fame comes a requirement to do something with it. Hughes sought to advocate for those less fortunate, heading to Africa to advocate for sport as play. Her passion to bring sport to all corners of the earth seeps out through the narrative and brings the reader closer to understanding the importance of sport outside of competing. Coming full circle, Hughes addresses the pains of her personal struggles with depression and masking the agony of her youth through excessive training when she had to hang up her skates (and bike) and lived in a permanent state of retirement. The reader is able to better understand the Hughes the cameras did not capture and the pains that this elite athlete faced, putting more of an 'everyday person' spin on her life. By finding herself, both immersed in and away from sports, Hughes offers the reader a raw insight into the struggles elite athletes face away from the field/track/oval. A must-read for anyone who wants to be touched as they learn about the wonders of Olympic athleticism.
Hughes pulls no punches in this book, allowing the reader to see behind the proverbial curtain. Hughes takes the time to focus on the training regimen she undertook in preparation for her numerous Olympic Games, as well as event-day preparation. Offsetting this with the struggles between the Games and the limitations that training offers to mask the struggles inside the mind or body, Hughes found herself pushed in directions she could not have forecast. Never forgetting her roots in Winnipeg, but refusing to use that as a crutch, Hughes exemplifies how hard work and determination can sometimes pay off, though it is not a certainty for Olympic glory. I found myself curious as to how Hughes could have been an Olympic caliber athlete in two sports that differed greatly, though the narrative explores this and shows the reader how she could master both sports at different points in her life. It is surely an amazing story, which flows through well-constructed chapters, offering just enough to sate the curiosity of readers. Hughes does not shy away from the abuse she faced, in many forms, throughout her life, though she did not feel strong enough to overcome it until later and with the help of many. Clara Hughes is not perfect, though perhaps that is the point of this book. This personal story is powerfully presented with a personal flavour that shows the larger picture of an Olympian who seeks not to be a god, but an ambassador of determination and hard work. If the reader takes but one thing from this book, it should be that no struggle is insurmountable.
Kudos, Madam Hughes for this insightful story that passes the realm of simple biography or memoir and digs much deeper to show how even more biggest stars can live lives with flaws.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Hughes pulls no punches in this book, allowing the reader to see behind the proverbial curtain. Hughes takes the time to focus on the training regimen she undertook in preparation for her numerous Olympic Games, as well as event-day preparation. Offsetting this with the struggles between the Games and the limitations that training offers to mask the struggles inside the mind or body, Hughes found herself pushed in directions she could not have forecast. Never forgetting her roots in Winnipeg, but refusing to use that as a crutch, Hughes exemplifies how hard work and determination can sometimes pay off, though it is not a certainty for Olympic glory. I found myself curious as to how Hughes could have been an Olympic caliber athlete in two sports that differed greatly, though the narrative explores this and shows the reader how she could master both sports at different points in her life. It is surely an amazing story, which flows through well-constructed chapters, offering just enough to sate the curiosity of readers. Hughes does not shy away from the abuse she faced, in many forms, throughout her life, though she did not feel strong enough to overcome it until later and with the help of many. Clara Hughes is not perfect, though perhaps that is the point of this book. This personal story is powerfully presented with a personal flavour that shows the larger picture of an Olympian who seeks not to be a god, but an ambassador of determination and hard work. If the reader takes but one thing from this book, it should be that no struggle is insurmountable.
Kudos, Madam Hughes for this insightful story that passes the realm of simple biography or memoir and digs much deeper to show how even more biggest stars can live lives with flaws.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
September 14, 2015
An unusual and above average memoir from Canada's first athlete to win medals at both summer and winter Olympic Games. Athletes are usually raised in a bubble and are as dull as dishwater for it. Hughes has lived a life for more interesting than that, which she shares with honesty and clarity. Her work with Right to Play and as a spokesperson for mental health issues is included here, as well as her early years growing up in Winnipeg, and unconventional relationship with her husband Peter. Highly recommended, this would be a great addition to the high school curriculum. While there are no shortage of memoirs that deal with depression, eating disorders, alcoholism, abuse from authority figures, divorce, growing up poor etc few are told with so much gratitude and an absence of self pity by an Olympic champion.
October 14, 2015
I love reading athlete's biographies, and for once it wasn't a male hockey player so it was actually written pretty well too. Throw in Olympic race stories and I'm hooked. But Clara goes further than her career and doesn't shy away from her history with mental illnesses which was a nice honest read from a famous athlete.
June 16, 2021
This was Book of the Month for Sussex Regional Library, which I connected with during our lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Clara Hughes is a six-time Olympic medalist and the first and only athlete ever to win multiple medals in both the Summer and Winter Games. She is a national spokesperson for Bell Canada's Let's Talk initiative, a campaign dedicated to breaking down the stigma of mental illness. She lives with her husband, Peter, in Canmore, Alberta, and continues to enjoy bike touring and hiking.
I enjoyed reading Open Heart, Open Mind. It felt like Clara Hughes and I were new friends having a pleasant conversation and I was curiously interested in what she was telling me about her life. With honesty, passion and humour she shared a dramatic, behind-the-scenes look at the fiercely competitive world of endurance sports, and a redemptive story of a daughter seeking to heal. I appreciated the many glossy photos included in the book.
When Clara Hughes won Gold at the Torino Olympics 2006, she donated $10,000 to Right to Play and challenged Canadians to donate more. Four months later $430,000 had been raised.
While on tour as athletic ambassador with 'Right to Play, Right to Live' in Rwanda, a child asked Clara, "Do you have everything?"
She replied, "Because I'm healthy and active, I feel very rich indeed. I also feel I have everything I need to achieve anything that's meaningful to me."
At a brushing-off ceremony prior to Vancouver Olympics 2010 a Squamish elder said, "I cannot heal you of your pain. Only you can heal yourself with your open heart and your open mind."
After dressing for the 3000 metres race, Clara inked the words Open Heart, Open Mind between her left thumb and forefinger.
You have probably read or heard something similar to the following quote. I think it is good advice for us all.
"Every day ask yourself: What am I going to do today to make myself one step closer to my goals and dreams?
You can only live this day once, this opportunity is now. Once it is gone, it is gone. Embrace the opportunity."
After reading the book, I did a google search and watched Clara Hughes in several interviews. She is a good person.
4 stars
Clara Hughes is a six-time Olympic medalist and the first and only athlete ever to win multiple medals in both the Summer and Winter Games. She is a national spokesperson for Bell Canada's Let's Talk initiative, a campaign dedicated to breaking down the stigma of mental illness. She lives with her husband, Peter, in Canmore, Alberta, and continues to enjoy bike touring and hiking.
I enjoyed reading Open Heart, Open Mind. It felt like Clara Hughes and I were new friends having a pleasant conversation and I was curiously interested in what she was telling me about her life. With honesty, passion and humour she shared a dramatic, behind-the-scenes look at the fiercely competitive world of endurance sports, and a redemptive story of a daughter seeking to heal. I appreciated the many glossy photos included in the book.
When Clara Hughes won Gold at the Torino Olympics 2006, she donated $10,000 to Right to Play and challenged Canadians to donate more. Four months later $430,000 had been raised.
While on tour as athletic ambassador with 'Right to Play, Right to Live' in Rwanda, a child asked Clara, "Do you have everything?"
She replied, "Because I'm healthy and active, I feel very rich indeed. I also feel I have everything I need to achieve anything that's meaningful to me."
At a brushing-off ceremony prior to Vancouver Olympics 2010 a Squamish elder said, "I cannot heal you of your pain. Only you can heal yourself with your open heart and your open mind."
After dressing for the 3000 metres race, Clara inked the words Open Heart, Open Mind between her left thumb and forefinger.
You have probably read or heard something similar to the following quote. I think it is good advice for us all.
"Every day ask yourself: What am I going to do today to make myself one step closer to my goals and dreams?
You can only live this day once, this opportunity is now. Once it is gone, it is gone. Embrace the opportunity."
After reading the book, I did a google search and watched Clara Hughes in several interviews. She is a good person.
4 stars
February 22, 2017
not going to lie, was a bit disappointed with this book. I heard about it via CBC radio and was intrigued but ultimately found it lacking in emotional depth. if I am honest with myself i found it to be a bit boring d/t being so detailed about mundane things. I feel like she only scratched the surface of the emotional/mental health issues she wrestles with in this book...I was hoping she would take us deeper and allow herself to be even more vulnerable. I enjoyed learning more about the Olympics and what it's like to be professional athlete. I think she is doing very important work and is a strong, accomplished and insightful woman...but not really a great author.
October 20, 2015
3.5 stars (good read)
I found I was more interested in Clara Hughes the person rather than Clara Hughes the athlete. I am glad I decided to read this book and thank Clara for sharing her story.
I found I was more interested in Clara Hughes the person rather than Clara Hughes the athlete. I am glad I decided to read this book and thank Clara for sharing her story.
February 5, 2024
I gained an appreciation for the difficulties faced by competitive athletes and found Clara's story interesting, but was disappointed it didn't spend more time on the mental health aspect of her journey. A bit slow-going for me.
July 16, 2018
Inspiring and well-written. Easy to read...maybe too easy to read? I wish there was more detail and more development than just a layout of facts and schedules. It would be very very very cool to kind of peer into Clara's brain and thoughts more throughout the Olympic journey. But overall, great read and would recommend to all, especially, teenage girls.
Want to read
September 9, 2015Clara Hughes is an amazing athlete - my hero. Can't wait to read this one!
July 19, 2021
Open Heart, Open Mind is an autobiography memoir written by Clara Hughes. It chronicles Clara Hughes' journey through mental illness, immense pressures as a top athlete and her struggles to maintain her wellness.
Clara Hughes is a Canadian cyclist and speed skater who have won multiple Olympic medals in both sports. Hughes won two bronze in the 1996 Summer Olympics and four medals (one gold, one silver, two bronze) over the course of three Winter Olympics. She is tied with Cindy Klassen as the Canadian with the most Olympic medals, with six medals total.
Hughes is brutally honest, starting with the difficult childhood she and her sister faced with an alcoholic father and what comes across as a domestically abused mother. Taking drugs and drinking at a young age, Hughes was on a downward spiral when she saw Gaétan Boucher on TV, speed skating at the 1988 Olympics, which she drew inspiration from.
Hughes' success is well documented and she doesn't spend a lot of time detailing most of her victories and podiums. Instead, she talks about how none of it could overcome feelings of lack of self worth and being overweight, black moods and depression, no matter how well she did.
In the cycling specific sections, Clara talks in great detail about her on-again, off-again relationship with long-time coach Mirek Mazur, outlining constant belittling and mental abuse. However, she also admits he made her push herself harder than anyone else to become the best she could be.
Open Heart, Open Mind is written rather well. Hughes is extremely open and honest about her life, which is rather unusual for an autobiography for an athlete or celebrity and has an easy to read writing style. The emotional roller coaster ride from wasted teen to world athlete to a champion of bringing awareness to depression issues a very interesting journey, to train for world championships, and the biggest event in the world, the Olympics, while battling depression, is inspiring.
All in all, Open Heart, Open Mind is a wonderful autobiography told with honesty and passion about a personal journey through physical and mental pain to a life where love and understanding can thrive.
Clara Hughes is a Canadian cyclist and speed skater who have won multiple Olympic medals in both sports. Hughes won two bronze in the 1996 Summer Olympics and four medals (one gold, one silver, two bronze) over the course of three Winter Olympics. She is tied with Cindy Klassen as the Canadian with the most Olympic medals, with six medals total.
Hughes is brutally honest, starting with the difficult childhood she and her sister faced with an alcoholic father and what comes across as a domestically abused mother. Taking drugs and drinking at a young age, Hughes was on a downward spiral when she saw Gaétan Boucher on TV, speed skating at the 1988 Olympics, which she drew inspiration from.
Hughes' success is well documented and she doesn't spend a lot of time detailing most of her victories and podiums. Instead, she talks about how none of it could overcome feelings of lack of self worth and being overweight, black moods and depression, no matter how well she did.
In the cycling specific sections, Clara talks in great detail about her on-again, off-again relationship with long-time coach Mirek Mazur, outlining constant belittling and mental abuse. However, she also admits he made her push herself harder than anyone else to become the best she could be.
Open Heart, Open Mind is written rather well. Hughes is extremely open and honest about her life, which is rather unusual for an autobiography for an athlete or celebrity and has an easy to read writing style. The emotional roller coaster ride from wasted teen to world athlete to a champion of bringing awareness to depression issues a very interesting journey, to train for world championships, and the biggest event in the world, the Olympics, while battling depression, is inspiring.
All in all, Open Heart, Open Mind is a wonderful autobiography told with honesty and passion about a personal journey through physical and mental pain to a life where love and understanding can thrive.
July 12, 2018
I am grateful to Clara Hughes for having the courage to share her story and her truth. Very moving and inspiration book. I feel badly, because I really would like to give more details on my thoughts about this book. But it is published by one of the big five publishers.
Note: I used togive full reviews for all of the books that I rated on GR. However, GR's new giveaway policies (Good Reads 2017 November Giveaways Policies Changes) have caused me to change my reviewing decisions. These new GR policies seem to harm smaller publishing efforts in favour of providing advantage to the larger companies (GR Authors' Feedback), the big five publishers (Big Five Publishers). So, because of these policies from now on I will be supporting smaller publishing effort by only giving full reviews to books published by: companies outside the big five companies, indie publishers, and self-published authors. This book was published by one of the big five companies so will not receive a more detailed review by me.
Note: I used togive full reviews for all of the books that I rated on GR. However, GR's new giveaway policies (Good Reads 2017 November Giveaways Policies Changes) have caused me to change my reviewing decisions. These new GR policies seem to harm smaller publishing efforts in favour of providing advantage to the larger companies (GR Authors' Feedback), the big five publishers (Big Five Publishers). So, because of these policies from now on I will be supporting smaller publishing effort by only giving full reviews to books published by: companies outside the big five companies, indie publishers, and self-published authors. This book was published by one of the big five companies so will not receive a more detailed review by me.
February 24, 2018
Clara Hughes is perhaps my favourite Olympian of all time. I had wanted to read her autobiography for a long time and I am happy that I managed it get around to it during the Winter Olympics. Her experience at six Olympic games were very intriguing and exciting to read. However, it was her personal struggles that really made me see Hughes in a different light. Sharing stories of her dark past from addiction, family problems, and depression, I could not help but be shocked to know the real story behind the smile. I applaud Hughes' for writing such a personal book that does a great job of breaking the stigma of mental illness and encourages others to seek out the good things in life.
January 11, 2020
A moving reminder: that famous people may be far different than they look like in the glare of publicity; that anyone may have to live with anxieties or torments; that traumas are often inflicted on younger generations by older ones; that torments can be coped with or possibly even overcome. Hughes apparently saw this book as a way to help others having mental or emotional difficulties; it should at least inspire many. There could have been more detail about training and the athlete's life. A chapter on a bike ride along the Dempster Highway is interesting but seems not quite to fit. The relative brevity seems calculated to keep the book fast-paced and easy to read and that's OK.
August 14, 2018
Fast, engaging memoir by Canadian Olympian Hughes, who has triumphed at both Summer and Winter Olympics despite a troubled youth and mental health challenges. I was not a sporty kid by any stretch of the imagination, and was interested to read about how transformative involvement in sports can be for kids, both for Hughes herself and for the children she has reached out to through her charitable endeavours.
November 27, 2019
For the 2019 Reading Women challenge, one of the items was a book about a female athlete. While I'm not terribly interested in sports, Clara's story is inspiring. She's an admirable person, both for her athletic achievements, her advocacy work, and her honesty in confronting her history of childhood trauma and mental health issues.
January 11, 2019
An interesting look into Clara’s life, told frankly and bluntly, without flourishes, rose coloured glasses, or an abundance of pride. Just straight forward, this is what Clara’s lived experience has been. I enjoyed her rather stream of conscious writing, and found her life to be quite interesting as she shared it.
September 16, 2017
Raw and real - not just the smiling redhead draped in Olympic medals that most of Canada knows.
July 9, 2024
3.5 rounded down to 3— I read it for sports english class so couldn’t enjoy it normally.
but good! made me want to go hiking! and I love hiking!
but good! made me want to go hiking! and I love hiking!
August 19, 2024
Read this book in the spirit of the Olympics being on, and it surpassed my expectations! Very well written and interesting to see the point of view of a two sport competitive athlete. Would highly recommend!
August 17, 2021
Her story was very interesting and good. I do remember her from her Bell Let’s Talk campaign. So it was really cool hearing her struggles and triumphs.
October 9, 2017
Incredibly brave and honest memoir.
May 24, 2022
As a huge fan of the Olympics, I remember watching Clara Hughes win her cycling medals at the Atlanta games, and being amazed by her transformation into a successful speed skater just a few years later. It was only after she became a spokesperson for mental health initiatives that I realized what an amazing person she really is, as she had to overcome so much adversity to accomplish what she did. In this book she tells her story with a great deal of insight and honesty. This has to have been a difficult book to write, and it is obvious that she has left out some of the details out of respect for her family's privacy. She comes across as a very genuine person with whom I would love to share a coffee.
August 30, 2022
Last time I read this I was still an athlete, interesting to reconnect with this book in a different way after retiring
July 2, 2025
Such an enjoyable, heartwarming, inspiring story. I really appreciated the way Clara spoke about her mental health and journey from a young kid to where she is now. The writing is direct and easy to read. I can’t wait to pass it on to others to enjoy.
March 12, 2017
Clara Hughes could have had a very different life. Her family situation was a scary place to be and she began the downward spiral but her love of skating pulled her away from the alcohol and drugs. Pushing her body to unimaginable limits to achieve sports ultimate achievement - several Olympic medals. Sadly mental health issues plagued her even in her hours of glory. A wonderful and fascinating read.
November 4, 2015
The Good Stuff
Even though her life has been tough at times, there is no self pity or blame
Fascinating background in the day to day training involved in a competitive athletes life
Likeable, honest writing. Feels like you are listening to a friend tell a story
Admire her for what she has accomplished with her life, especially her work with Right to Play and Bell Canada Lets Talks
Found it interesting what goes on during the Olympics
Speaks very openly about addiction and mental illness
Loved her Dad even though he was a very troubled man. She makes you feel the good in him, despite his demons
Honestly I was fascinated by the training and the ins and outs of competitive sports. The incredible drive and determination is awe inspiring (ok, also remember I am a Librarian and a nerd, so sports is sooo not my thing)
Interesting to learn about the pressure to dope and all about the different methods
I have always been less than understanding about the importance of sport and she really made me how much sport can inspire and help someone (Ok most of my negativity comes from being shit at sports and made fun of by jocks, I still remember being insulted in high school by a girl named Christine about my lack of athleticism - I'm 45 and I still remember that moment)
I really enjoyed the stories about her experiences while working on Right to Play. Truly inspiring, fun and so raw and beautiful
Loved her colourful dialogue (Yup I also believe that people who swear are more honest and trustful)
Amazed by the amount of eating disorders within competitive sports, Liked that she talked so openly about her own struggles. Hey we have something in common - who knew - no one is safe from that inner demon
Impressed with the connection in regards to her Father at the beginning and the end of the story. Nicely done
The Not So Good Stuff
Jumps around a bit
Favorite Quotes
"As a kid, you just try to survive. You grind whatever awful things you are experiencing into dust as they're happening.'
"My Dad used to say to me, "Clara, never put anyone below you, and never put anyone above you. There are good an bad people - you can't deceive yourself into thinking otherwise - but it has nothing to do with race or income."
"This lesson in a taxicab on a cold winter's day showed me the potential of human beings to transcend hatred, greed, and genocide. Even now I marvel that someone could come to this kind of peace after losing so much."
4 Dewey's
I received this from Simon and Schuster in exchange for an honest review
Even though her life has been tough at times, there is no self pity or blame
Fascinating background in the day to day training involved in a competitive athletes life
Likeable, honest writing. Feels like you are listening to a friend tell a story
Admire her for what she has accomplished with her life, especially her work with Right to Play and Bell Canada Lets Talks
Found it interesting what goes on during the Olympics
Speaks very openly about addiction and mental illness
Loved her Dad even though he was a very troubled man. She makes you feel the good in him, despite his demons
Honestly I was fascinated by the training and the ins and outs of competitive sports. The incredible drive and determination is awe inspiring (ok, also remember I am a Librarian and a nerd, so sports is sooo not my thing)
Interesting to learn about the pressure to dope and all about the different methods
I have always been less than understanding about the importance of sport and she really made me how much sport can inspire and help someone (Ok most of my negativity comes from being shit at sports and made fun of by jocks, I still remember being insulted in high school by a girl named Christine about my lack of athleticism - I'm 45 and I still remember that moment)
I really enjoyed the stories about her experiences while working on Right to Play. Truly inspiring, fun and so raw and beautiful
Loved her colourful dialogue (Yup I also believe that people who swear are more honest and trustful)
Amazed by the amount of eating disorders within competitive sports, Liked that she talked so openly about her own struggles. Hey we have something in common - who knew - no one is safe from that inner demon
Impressed with the connection in regards to her Father at the beginning and the end of the story. Nicely done
The Not So Good Stuff
Jumps around a bit
Favorite Quotes
"As a kid, you just try to survive. You grind whatever awful things you are experiencing into dust as they're happening.'
"My Dad used to say to me, "Clara, never put anyone below you, and never put anyone above you. There are good an bad people - you can't deceive yourself into thinking otherwise - but it has nothing to do with race or income."
"This lesson in a taxicab on a cold winter's day showed me the potential of human beings to transcend hatred, greed, and genocide. Even now I marvel that someone could come to this kind of peace after losing so much."
4 Dewey's
I received this from Simon and Schuster in exchange for an honest review
September 23, 2015
Clara Hughes is a Canadian cyclist and speed skater, who has won multiple Olympic medals in both sports. She is tied with Cindy Klassen as the Canadian with the most Olympic medals, with six medals total. She is one of the few athletes who have competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympic games.
Because of her success in sports and her humanitarian efforts, Hughes was named to both the Order of Manitoba and as an Officer of the Order of Canada. She is involved with Right To Play, which is an athlete-driven international humanitarian organization that uses sports to encourage the development of youth in disadvantaged areas. She has received a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame and was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
This book is her story of growing up in Winnipeg with a father was an alcoholic who verbally abused their mother. As a teen, she drank, used drugs and skipped school, trying to escape her home life. When she was 16, she turned her life around when she saw gold medal speed skater, Gaétan Boucher, race in the 1988 Calgary Olympics ... that's what she wanted to do. She tells of her highs and lows, of training, of lacking in confidence, meeting and marrying Peter, of the grueling physical vacations that she and Peter have taken (our idea of vacations are definitely different ... ha!), of her realization that she suffered from depression, and more.
I liked the writing style. I found her to be honest, down to earth, likable and human (like freaking out when she's frustrated and angry). She's not afraid to swear and even drops the F-bomb.
I was at a conference in 2010 and Clara was the "motivational" speaker. Afterwards she let everyone hold/wear her medals (yes, I did!), signed autographs and had pictures taken. Even then her mantra was open mind, open heart, warrior.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2015/09...
Because of her success in sports and her humanitarian efforts, Hughes was named to both the Order of Manitoba and as an Officer of the Order of Canada. She is involved with Right To Play, which is an athlete-driven international humanitarian organization that uses sports to encourage the development of youth in disadvantaged areas. She has received a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame and was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
This book is her story of growing up in Winnipeg with a father was an alcoholic who verbally abused their mother. As a teen, she drank, used drugs and skipped school, trying to escape her home life. When she was 16, she turned her life around when she saw gold medal speed skater, Gaétan Boucher, race in the 1988 Calgary Olympics ... that's what she wanted to do. She tells of her highs and lows, of training, of lacking in confidence, meeting and marrying Peter, of the grueling physical vacations that she and Peter have taken (our idea of vacations are definitely different ... ha!), of her realization that she suffered from depression, and more.
I liked the writing style. I found her to be honest, down to earth, likable and human (like freaking out when she's frustrated and angry). She's not afraid to swear and even drops the F-bomb.
I was at a conference in 2010 and Clara was the "motivational" speaker. Afterwards she let everyone hold/wear her medals (yes, I did!), signed autographs and had pictures taken. Even then her mantra was open mind, open heart, warrior.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2015/09...
October 26, 2017
Every Canadian knows Clara Hughes, the curly red head with the winning smile who won medals at both the summer and winter Olympic Games for cycling and speed skating. Clara is an accomplished athlete who overcame many issues growing up in a difficult home. She created a successful award winning life in sport although she still faces problems that stem from her difficult past.
In this memoir, Clara shares details of her youth during which stealing, skipping school, drinking and drugs played a part. It was a time when she did not care about anything except getting through the day. She found a way out of that life through sport, enduring rigorous and relentless training to achieve her goals. Most people did not know how different she was from the face she presented to her public. She had never told her story even to herself, dealing with it in bits and pieces at different times in her life. But Clara has bravely decided to share her struggles with mental illness, her years of depression and self-loathing and the work she does now to stay healthy. She believes explaining her life to others helps her know herself better and she hopes by sharing, she may help others who are suffering get the help they need.
During the years Clara competed in sport, she consistently showed the world the side of herself she wanted others to see – that of a strong woman who could endure the pain of competing in two demanding sports in which endurance is the key -- cycling and speed skating. Clara racked up numerous medals and awards but behind it all was a woman in distress, a woman who has had to face her demons to get on with her life.
Clara describes her life growing up with a well-educated father who somehow lost his way and became an abusive and chronic alcoholic. Her mother endured the difficult life he created until finally, when Clara and her sister Dodie were still young, she told him to leave the family home. The two sisters became childhood rebels, stealing, drinking, and doing drugs. Clara found her way out of that destructive life when she viewed Gaetan Boucher on TV skating at the 1988 Olympics and decided that was what she wanted to do. The decision to turn to competitive sport required she submit to long hours of training which took up her time and kept her away from the downward spiral her sister continued to travel.
Early in her career, Clara began an on-again off-again relationship with coach Mirek Mazur. His methods challenged her but he was abusive, belittling and demeaning. She hated his ways and his words but as she gained success she also became convinced she could not succeed without him. He constantly nagged her about her weight, making her feel fat and worthless. His cruel words eventually led her to hate her body, planting the seeds of a destructive eating disorder that haunted her for years. In describing their relationship, Clara is factual but also generous. She credits him for challenging her and making her want to be good at something when she was aimless and lost. But she eventually severed the relationship when she could no longer bear his abuse. They had a difficult parting. It did not end well.
Clara shares the highs and lows of winning and losing through the various competitions she entered. The details of her journey serve to highlight not only the mentally and physically abusive methods of coaching staff but also the attitudes of high profile athletes whose narcissism is viewed as commitment, an invisible cloak they are encouraged to wear. Those who compete at the highest levels in sport live a life focused on themselves, their training, their performance, their accidents and their recovery. It is only when they leave competition that they find that self-absorption hard to shake.
There are a few shocking revelations in these pages including Clara’s drift back to smoking and alcohol while continuing to compete. But the most surprising is that she tested positive for a banned substance in 1994 while competing at the Road World Championships in Sicily. This was during the early years of testing and knowledge about these drugs was nowhere near the level it is now. Clara has no idea when or how she consumed the banned substance but insists she has consistently competed clean. She accepted the three month suspension and was told to keep quiet about it which she did, but this part of her past has haunted her ever since. The fact she has chosen to bring it forward publically when it would otherwise never have been known, enhances the credibility of her story. She hopes by bringing it forward she can rid herself of the guilt and its effect on her conscience.
By immersing herself in competitive sport steeped in the culture of winning, Clara has learned an important lesson. The rewards she worked so hard and longed for were not what she needed. She gradually came to understand that whether she won or lost a race had no impact on the guilt and self-hatred she had been dragging around with her since childhood. It was one of the defining moments of her journey to understand herself.
This is an important book which shows how one person overcame a life headed in a downward spiral until it was channeled towards sport. But the relentless training and physical pain Clara endured to compete masked her problems and when she stopped competing, she hit a wall. Without clear recognizable goals, old negative thought patterns became stronger. She had always believed her toxic inner chatter was the result of striving to be better at the difficult sports she had chosen. But without the distractive pressures of training and competition, she became consumed by the thought she was not a good person. In the past, when team members or coaches noticed she was sad and lonely, they talked to her about depression, but the mere mention of the word sent Clara running off in a frenzy of denial, refusing to acknowledge the fact and accept treatment. But after stepping away from competition, she was forced to confront her illness and accept it.
Clara loved sport and knew after she retired that she had to find a way to enjoy it in a way that meant more than simply winning. She found the answer by joining Right to Life, an organization that helps children around the world find a way out of their difficult circumstances through sport. She has also joined the Bell’s “Let’s Talk” program. Their goal is to create an open, accepting conversation about mental health and she is the public face of their campaign.
Clara has written a very brave and honest memoir to help others who have similar problems, to show them that all they need is commitment to a goal and the deep desire to do the hard work to reach it. Just as one would expect, her prose is clean, sparse and precise. The open way she shares the effect mental illness has had on her family and her battle with depression is to be admired. It also serves to remind readers how the expectations an adoring public places on world class athletes to reach a particular goal on a specific day and at a specific time can be so stressful it can ruin lives.
One cannot help but admire Clara, not only for her accomplishments as an athlete but for honestly sharing difficult aspects of her life. She deserves our thanks for this book as well as her commitment to serve others through her work with Right to Life and the Let’s Talk Project.
One cannot help but respect and commend her for all she has accomplished.
In this memoir, Clara shares details of her youth during which stealing, skipping school, drinking and drugs played a part. It was a time when she did not care about anything except getting through the day. She found a way out of that life through sport, enduring rigorous and relentless training to achieve her goals. Most people did not know how different she was from the face she presented to her public. She had never told her story even to herself, dealing with it in bits and pieces at different times in her life. But Clara has bravely decided to share her struggles with mental illness, her years of depression and self-loathing and the work she does now to stay healthy. She believes explaining her life to others helps her know herself better and she hopes by sharing, she may help others who are suffering get the help they need.
During the years Clara competed in sport, she consistently showed the world the side of herself she wanted others to see – that of a strong woman who could endure the pain of competing in two demanding sports in which endurance is the key -- cycling and speed skating. Clara racked up numerous medals and awards but behind it all was a woman in distress, a woman who has had to face her demons to get on with her life.
Clara describes her life growing up with a well-educated father who somehow lost his way and became an abusive and chronic alcoholic. Her mother endured the difficult life he created until finally, when Clara and her sister Dodie were still young, she told him to leave the family home. The two sisters became childhood rebels, stealing, drinking, and doing drugs. Clara found her way out of that destructive life when she viewed Gaetan Boucher on TV skating at the 1988 Olympics and decided that was what she wanted to do. The decision to turn to competitive sport required she submit to long hours of training which took up her time and kept her away from the downward spiral her sister continued to travel.
Early in her career, Clara began an on-again off-again relationship with coach Mirek Mazur. His methods challenged her but he was abusive, belittling and demeaning. She hated his ways and his words but as she gained success she also became convinced she could not succeed without him. He constantly nagged her about her weight, making her feel fat and worthless. His cruel words eventually led her to hate her body, planting the seeds of a destructive eating disorder that haunted her for years. In describing their relationship, Clara is factual but also generous. She credits him for challenging her and making her want to be good at something when she was aimless and lost. But she eventually severed the relationship when she could no longer bear his abuse. They had a difficult parting. It did not end well.
Clara shares the highs and lows of winning and losing through the various competitions she entered. The details of her journey serve to highlight not only the mentally and physically abusive methods of coaching staff but also the attitudes of high profile athletes whose narcissism is viewed as commitment, an invisible cloak they are encouraged to wear. Those who compete at the highest levels in sport live a life focused on themselves, their training, their performance, their accidents and their recovery. It is only when they leave competition that they find that self-absorption hard to shake.
There are a few shocking revelations in these pages including Clara’s drift back to smoking and alcohol while continuing to compete. But the most surprising is that she tested positive for a banned substance in 1994 while competing at the Road World Championships in Sicily. This was during the early years of testing and knowledge about these drugs was nowhere near the level it is now. Clara has no idea when or how she consumed the banned substance but insists she has consistently competed clean. She accepted the three month suspension and was told to keep quiet about it which she did, but this part of her past has haunted her ever since. The fact she has chosen to bring it forward publically when it would otherwise never have been known, enhances the credibility of her story. She hopes by bringing it forward she can rid herself of the guilt and its effect on her conscience.
By immersing herself in competitive sport steeped in the culture of winning, Clara has learned an important lesson. The rewards she worked so hard and longed for were not what she needed. She gradually came to understand that whether she won or lost a race had no impact on the guilt and self-hatred she had been dragging around with her since childhood. It was one of the defining moments of her journey to understand herself.
This is an important book which shows how one person overcame a life headed in a downward spiral until it was channeled towards sport. But the relentless training and physical pain Clara endured to compete masked her problems and when she stopped competing, she hit a wall. Without clear recognizable goals, old negative thought patterns became stronger. She had always believed her toxic inner chatter was the result of striving to be better at the difficult sports she had chosen. But without the distractive pressures of training and competition, she became consumed by the thought she was not a good person. In the past, when team members or coaches noticed she was sad and lonely, they talked to her about depression, but the mere mention of the word sent Clara running off in a frenzy of denial, refusing to acknowledge the fact and accept treatment. But after stepping away from competition, she was forced to confront her illness and accept it.
Clara loved sport and knew after she retired that she had to find a way to enjoy it in a way that meant more than simply winning. She found the answer by joining Right to Life, an organization that helps children around the world find a way out of their difficult circumstances through sport. She has also joined the Bell’s “Let’s Talk” program. Their goal is to create an open, accepting conversation about mental health and she is the public face of their campaign.
Clara has written a very brave and honest memoir to help others who have similar problems, to show them that all they need is commitment to a goal and the deep desire to do the hard work to reach it. Just as one would expect, her prose is clean, sparse and precise. The open way she shares the effect mental illness has had on her family and her battle with depression is to be admired. It also serves to remind readers how the expectations an adoring public places on world class athletes to reach a particular goal on a specific day and at a specific time can be so stressful it can ruin lives.
One cannot help but admire Clara, not only for her accomplishments as an athlete but for honestly sharing difficult aspects of her life. She deserves our thanks for this book as well as her commitment to serve others through her work with Right to Life and the Let’s Talk Project.
One cannot help but respect and commend her for all she has accomplished.
May 3, 2016
Clara Hughes is a compelling, Canadian athlete, whose accomplishments are unmatched. Her book starts of very compelling and seems to whither away by the end. This book is more of a memoir than a biography, although, at times, these lines blur.
I really wanted to learn more about her family and how she dealt with these complicated relationships, but for reasons unclear, perhaps protecting their privacy, we learn only cursory information about her family members. Her Dad was an angry alcoholic, her sister was/is troubled, and her mother, long-suffering. While we learn her Dad's and sister's names, Kenneth and Dodie respectively, her mother's name is not ever mentioned. Odd.
Her tales of her wild youth, refocused through a keen commitment to sport, specifically training for the Olympics, are a bit more fleshed out. She is pushed by an abusive coach whose pressure on her results in both athletic success and intensified, undiagnosed depression. Speaking of which, Hughes devotes only a small part of her book to her struggles with depression. Much like her races, she seems to be in a hurry to get through with it.
She speaks at length about her loving relationship with her husband, Peter. Minute details of the food they ate during their camping honeymoon are noted. These are more details than are necessary to flesh out her overall story.
I really enjoyed the first half of this book and expected the latter half to deliver the same. It did not. I was left wanting for information about her personal relationships (with family), how she survived financially (was it only road races?) and the efforts to deal with her depression (too cut and dry in one chapter).
I really admired her tenacity, strength and perseverance. I appreciated her honesty and would have liked to have learned more about her personal struggles.
I really wanted to learn more about her family and how she dealt with these complicated relationships, but for reasons unclear, perhaps protecting their privacy, we learn only cursory information about her family members. Her Dad was an angry alcoholic, her sister was/is troubled, and her mother, long-suffering. While we learn her Dad's and sister's names, Kenneth and Dodie respectively, her mother's name is not ever mentioned. Odd.
Her tales of her wild youth, refocused through a keen commitment to sport, specifically training for the Olympics, are a bit more fleshed out. She is pushed by an abusive coach whose pressure on her results in both athletic success and intensified, undiagnosed depression. Speaking of which, Hughes devotes only a small part of her book to her struggles with depression. Much like her races, she seems to be in a hurry to get through with it.
She speaks at length about her loving relationship with her husband, Peter. Minute details of the food they ate during their camping honeymoon are noted. These are more details than are necessary to flesh out her overall story.
I really enjoyed the first half of this book and expected the latter half to deliver the same. It did not. I was left wanting for information about her personal relationships (with family), how she survived financially (was it only road races?) and the efforts to deal with her depression (too cut and dry in one chapter).
I really admired her tenacity, strength and perseverance. I appreciated her honesty and would have liked to have learned more about her personal struggles.
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