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Hard Hits and Other Life Lessons from Roller Derby
A minister walks into a roller derby practice and skates into a new chapter of her life, and brings you along.
In her late 30s and in a new town trying to make friends, Dawn strapped on roller skates and discovered that a track full of women hitting each other had more to teach her about courage, community, and staying upright than most of what she'd learned in seminary. She took the name Liv Fearless. She was not, at first, fearless. That was rather the point.
Hard Hits & Other Life Lessons from Roller Derby is a memoir about our bodies as places where the sacred bruised, terrified, laughing, and refusing to quit. It's about falling down in front of people and getting back up in front of them, too. It's about humility and vision and burnout and beauty and bearing witness; the stuff nobody warned her the track would surface.
Designed to be read in order, the chapters build with each pairing a story from the track with a reflection and a challenge, so that following Dawn's journey becomes a way of finding your own. You don't need to know a jammer from a pivot. You only need to have wanted, at some point, to be braver than you were.
Dawn S. Cooley (aka Liv Fearless) is a Unitarian Universalist minister and writer.
In her late 30s and in a new town trying to make friends, Dawn strapped on roller skates and discovered that a track full of women hitting each other had more to teach her about courage, community, and staying upright than most of what she'd learned in seminary. She took the name Liv Fearless. She was not, at first, fearless. That was rather the point.
Hard Hits & Other Life Lessons from Roller Derby is a memoir about our bodies as places where the sacred bruised, terrified, laughing, and refusing to quit. It's about falling down in front of people and getting back up in front of them, too. It's about humility and vision and burnout and beauty and bearing witness; the stuff nobody warned her the track would surface.
Designed to be read in order, the chapters build with each pairing a story from the track with a reflection and a challenge, so that following Dawn's journey becomes a way of finding your own. You don't need to know a jammer from a pivot. You only need to have wanted, at some point, to be braver than you were.
Dawn S. Cooley (aka Liv Fearless) is a Unitarian Universalist minister and writer.
227 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 2, 2026
My favorite thing about Hard Hits and Other Life Lessons from Roller Derby is the way Dawn Cooley gives me so many different ways to interact with it. I feel lucky that I got to read an advance copy. It was much more than a memoir of a Unitarian Universalist minister who finds/build a new version of herself on a roller derby team; it was a discussion guide, a series of lessons in personal growth, a class curriculum. I started out reading the pages in order. Chapters started with stories from Reverend Dawn's roller derby experience. Each one was dynamic and gave me a very engaging look into a culture and a sport that was wholly unfamiliar to me. At first I liked these memoir bits the best. They were fun and funny and poignant; Dawn S. Cooley, aka Liv Fearless made me think about the challenges of being a woman and a mom in a world that has a lot of expectations, many unfair, and many self-inflicted. But then there was a section following each small story and I got to see what this dynamic experience taught Dawn. After that there was a takeaway and finally there were reflection questions. The brief challenge that ended each chapter felt a little intimidating at first. I just wanted a good read, not a homework assignment, not the suggestion of a small action that could make my life a little clearer today. But as I kept reading I kept thinking about the other people in my life and how much each chapter made me want to have a conversation with them…about body image, about the spaces where we feel a sense of belonging, about why people (women especially) have a hard time asking for help. I often hear friends talk about book clubs and I feel strongly that I'm not at a place in my life where I want to spend my little free time reading a book that someone else has chosen and feeling like I have to have thoughtful thoughts that I'm ready to share with an audience. I usually think that a short article club would be a lot more manageable. I'd like to read something in 15 minutes and then have a conversation that's mostly about our shared experiences, not about the book itself. I'd like to connect with my friends and colleagues and talk about something other than kids, home repairs, and what's going on at work. Hard Hits and Other Life Lessons from Roller Derby seemed like a perfect book for this. Even if I can't convince my friends to read it, I feel like Reverend Dawn gave me a bite-sized story that I could talk about a little bit and each story opened a much more meaningful conversation that anyone I want to know can relate to…and I have the discussion questions and a quick challenge item at the ready. I might try it with my cousin on our walks around the neighborhood …I might try it for a weekly check-in chat with my teen. Each chapter of Hard Hits and Other Life Lessons from Roller Derby is a push toward a good conversation…even if it’s with yourself.
October 1, 2026
Advanced Reader Copy provided for review.
Hard Hits and Other Lessons from Roller Derby uses roller derby as a starting point for conversations about life, community, accountability, and how we care for one another. You don't need to know anything about roller derby to connect with what the author is saying. The stories and lessons are easy to follow, and I found myself stopping often to think about my own experiences.
What I appreciated most is that this isn't a book full of feel-good sayings. The author doesn't just tell readers what matters; she offers ways to put those ideas into practice. Reflection questions throughout the book invite readers to engage with the material rather than simply agree with it and move on.
One section that particularly stood out to me was the discussion of calling out and calling in. Too often there is pressure to choose one approach over the other. Either the focus is on naming harm and protecting those who have been hurt, or it is on offering a path toward accountability and growth. The author makes a compelling case that both have a place. I appreciated the nuance she brings to the conversation and her willingness to sit with the complexity instead of offering easy answers.
The writing is accessible and inviting. There is no posturing, no jargon, and no attempt to separate people into camps. Instead, the book feels like an open invitation to examine our lives, our relationships, and the ways we show up for others.
More than anything, I came away from this book reminded that we need one another. We need people who will celebrate with us, challenge us, and sit beside us in times of pain. Hard Hits and Other Lessons from Roller Derby is a thoughtful, practical, and deeply human book that I expect many readers will find both encouraging and useful.
Hard Hits and Other Lessons from Roller Derby uses roller derby as a starting point for conversations about life, community, accountability, and how we care for one another. You don't need to know anything about roller derby to connect with what the author is saying. The stories and lessons are easy to follow, and I found myself stopping often to think about my own experiences.
What I appreciated most is that this isn't a book full of feel-good sayings. The author doesn't just tell readers what matters; she offers ways to put those ideas into practice. Reflection questions throughout the book invite readers to engage with the material rather than simply agree with it and move on.
One section that particularly stood out to me was the discussion of calling out and calling in. Too often there is pressure to choose one approach over the other. Either the focus is on naming harm and protecting those who have been hurt, or it is on offering a path toward accountability and growth. The author makes a compelling case that both have a place. I appreciated the nuance she brings to the conversation and her willingness to sit with the complexity instead of offering easy answers.
The writing is accessible and inviting. There is no posturing, no jargon, and no attempt to separate people into camps. Instead, the book feels like an open invitation to examine our lives, our relationships, and the ways we show up for others.
More than anything, I came away from this book reminded that we need one another. We need people who will celebrate with us, challenge us, and sit beside us in times of pain. Hard Hits and Other Lessons from Roller Derby is a thoughtful, practical, and deeply human book that I expect many readers will find both encouraging and useful.
Review of advance copy received from Author
If you judge this book by the cover, you may expect to find a book about roller derby and one woman’s experience of the sport. You’ll find that here, but that’s just the wrapping paper.
Underneath, you’ll find a treasure trove of wisdom. I enjoyed learning about roller derby and all of Dawn’s experiences with the sport. But I especially enjoyed the care with which she took each derby experience and pulled it through into a larger life lesson. These are lessons any of us can live by to deepen ourselves and our impact on the world. Dawn’s twenty years of ministry experience shine throughout this book.
Personally, I found her chapter on Play deeply resonant. I have a lot of balance in my life, but balance is not the same as play. Recently I began playing Dungeons & Dragons with some friends – something I haven’t done for more than 40 years. It’s quickly become a highlight of my week. Dawn’s reflections on play helped me recognize why those game nights have become so magical for me.
This is a book worth savoring, one chapter at a time. I recommend reading a chapter and giving yourself a few days or longer to sit with the “Practice Drills” at the end of the chapter, giving Dawn’s message time to steep.
A note: I received an advance reader copy from the author.
Underneath, you’ll find a treasure trove of wisdom. I enjoyed learning about roller derby and all of Dawn’s experiences with the sport. But I especially enjoyed the care with which she took each derby experience and pulled it through into a larger life lesson. These are lessons any of us can live by to deepen ourselves and our impact on the world. Dawn’s twenty years of ministry experience shine throughout this book.
Personally, I found her chapter on Play deeply resonant. I have a lot of balance in my life, but balance is not the same as play. Recently I began playing Dungeons & Dragons with some friends – something I haven’t done for more than 40 years. It’s quickly become a highlight of my week. Dawn’s reflections on play helped me recognize why those game nights have become so magical for me.
This is a book worth savoring, one chapter at a time. I recommend reading a chapter and giving yourself a few days or longer to sit with the “Practice Drills” at the end of the chapter, giving Dawn’s message time to steep.
A note: I received an advance reader copy from the author.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Being human is hard work, and these day's it's often lonely. Hard Hits is very much about being human, dealing with the highs and lows, and working on getting from surviving to thriving. The lessons are told in the context of roller derby, which provides a nice central theme, but, as the author describes in interpreting the stories, those lessons apply to life in general.
The flow of story, the lessons learned, and the questions to ask yourself, all work to make the book easily digestible while giving you a directed way to reflect on the text on the text and how it applies to you. That direction helps to reinforce the lesson of each story.
It's a good read, and doesn't demand to be read straight through, but you might find yourself doing so anyway as each chapter pulls you into the next.
The flow of story, the lessons learned, and the questions to ask yourself, all work to make the book easily digestible while giving you a directed way to reflect on the text on the text and how it applies to you. That direction helps to reinforce the lesson of each story.
It's a good read, and doesn't demand to be read straight through, but you might find yourself doing so anyway as each chapter pulls you into the next.
Read
September 22, 2026Rev. Dawn Cooley invites reading the sections that speak to you most rather than a sequential reading, so here goes with that. Since I haven't read the whole book I'm not giving a star rating. I received an advance copy. This is a creative mix of themes and messages where the author reflects deeply on her experience with Roller Derby. Yes, I've learned about Roller Derby and why Rev. Dawn challenged herself to play, but the sermon like lessons are more on point for me. Like a hard hit in Roller Derby I didn't see it coming.
So far her section on confidence is particularly hard hitting. She reflects on her "muchness" and how that is a quality that she's lost or at least has less of over time. That resonated as true for many people, maybe mostly women of a certain age, and claiming that, naming that is powerful and encourages unapologetic boldness.
So far her section on confidence is particularly hard hitting. She reflects on her "muchness" and how that is a quality that she's lost or at least has less of over time. That resonated as true for many people, maybe mostly women of a certain age, and claiming that, naming that is powerful and encourages unapologetic boldness.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Dawn Cooley’s very accessible, entertaining, and hands-on book, which uses roller derby as a metaphor for life, delivers on every level. I’m not sure I gained enough practical knowledge to lace up skates and start jamming myself, but the Bench Talk sections is where the real value is. Cooley seamlessly turns derby lingo and experience into relatable meditations on various tenets of personal exploration and growth. Both inspirational and aspirational, it offers nuggets of revelation and deep veins of experienced wisdom.
Full of personal insight and well-selected quotes, the book offers a stable foundation to reexamine and reinforce already-incorporated concepts and support to consider new, unexplored avenues. Highly recommend.
Full of personal insight and well-selected quotes, the book offers a stable foundation to reexamine and reinforce already-incorporated concepts and support to consider new, unexplored avenues. Highly recommend.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Before I start, full disclosure: I am a long time friend of the author, and I read an advance copy.
As Dawn herself states, “Hard Hits” is hard to pin down - is it a self help book? Is it a memoir? Is it something else?
The book uses Dawn’s experience in roller derby to inform life lessons, generally in the context of her work as a UU minister, and invites the reader to reflect on the questions raised. It is very readable - the anecdote, the lesson, the reflection - and relatable.
Based on my own professional background, I found a lot of lessons about team building and leadership in the book, and could see myself using this in a seminar on team building and leadership. The structure of the book lends itself nicely to such a use.
As Dawn herself states, “Hard Hits” is hard to pin down - is it a self help book? Is it a memoir? Is it something else?
The book uses Dawn’s experience in roller derby to inform life lessons, generally in the context of her work as a UU minister, and invites the reader to reflect on the questions raised. It is very readable - the anecdote, the lesson, the reflection - and relatable.
Based on my own professional background, I found a lot of lessons about team building and leadership in the book, and could see myself using this in a seminar on team building and leadership. The structure of the book lends itself nicely to such a use.
Review of advance copy received from Author
As a former roller girl and lifelong learner, this book checked every box for me. So much wisdom and practical advice to move the needle forward in my life. I will return this one again and again!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews