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Don't Let the Lipstick Fool You
The author, a three-time, gold medal Olympian, three-time MVP of the WNBA, and two-time world champion with the Los Angeles Sparks, shares how she triumphed over adversity to become a world-famous athlete known for her poise, beauty, and tough play.
290 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 24, 2011
All I needed to enjoy this book was to remind myself I wasn't reading it for literary value. It makes no pretense of being a Pulitzer candidate. It's a reasonably well told story about determination, sportsmanship and the rewards that come with it.
Lisa Leslie won everything you can win in the basketball world and she won it many times over. Now, how can you write an autobiography honestly listing all your seemingly endless achievements without sounding like a arrogant prick? Leslie's solution to this dilemma is to give props to everyone that helped her along the way as well as to thank Jesus. I am not much of a Jesus person (I am writing this on Easter Sunday, Heaven should strike me down), so that was of little interest to me, but I liked her 'grace under pressure' attitude and her resolution to always stay classy (even if she admits to the times she failed at that).
The title is all about the problem that many female athletes have - how to be viewed as a strong, competitve, successful athlete and a feminine and sexy woman, when these two notions appear to exclude one another. I wouldn't say I am much into basketball (not counting my bizarre obsession with the film 'Love & Basketball'). The closest I have been to the game was when I was dating a few pro basketball players (not simultaneously!) - the relationships that ultimately failed because we were not on the same level (I am 5'3"). Despite that, I could relate to this 'female athlete' conundrum. Try wearing boxing gloves, shin guards, mouth guard, get punched in the face and handle it like a lady.
PS. The love story at the end - freaking cute!
Lisa Leslie won everything you can win in the basketball world and she won it many times over. Now, how can you write an autobiography honestly listing all your seemingly endless achievements without sounding like a arrogant prick? Leslie's solution to this dilemma is to give props to everyone that helped her along the way as well as to thank Jesus. I am not much of a Jesus person (I am writing this on Easter Sunday, Heaven should strike me down), so that was of little interest to me, but I liked her 'grace under pressure' attitude and her resolution to always stay classy (even if she admits to the times she failed at that).
The title is all about the problem that many female athletes have - how to be viewed as a strong, competitve, successful athlete and a feminine and sexy woman, when these two notions appear to exclude one another. I wouldn't say I am much into basketball (not counting my bizarre obsession with the film 'Love & Basketball'). The closest I have been to the game was when I was dating a few pro basketball players (not simultaneously!) - the relationships that ultimately failed because we were not on the same level (I am 5'3"). Despite that, I could relate to this 'female athlete' conundrum. Try wearing boxing gloves, shin guards, mouth guard, get punched in the face and handle it like a lady.
PS. The love story at the end - freaking cute!
September 6, 2008
I picked up this book because of the respect for the athletic skills that Lisa Leslie shows on the court and the class she shows off the court. However, I learned a lot more than that. I had no clue that she had grew up in a home where her mother was a truck driver and a post office employee. I didn't know that she lived with her aunt and was helped out by her uncles in the game of basketball. I didn't realize that she had basically raised her younger sister, Tiffany and that her older sister had stolen her identity and ruined her credit. It was an informative book about one of the best basketball players of our generation. She was very open about things that happened like the fact that her college coach left because even though she had a better record than the mens coach they wouldn't pay her like it. I felt that Ms. Leslie was very very honest about how she felt during games and in her life about numerous subjects. I would highly recommend this book if you are interested in finding out what makes Lisa Leslie tick but also if you are just looking for a good autobiography of a strong woman that had to overcome numerous obstacles in her life.
August 9, 2024
I really enjoy sports biographies and autobiographies and truly enjoyed this one. Wish I read it sooner.
It’s a great read and a great story. It was so interesting to learn that her single mother was a truck driver…and they named their dog Semi (haha)!! 4 stars given due to grammatical or typographical errors and a few other personal reasons.
I am a Christian and appreciate all the references to our Savior. I truly believe He is the reason for Lisa’s success! But I also understand the Christian references are not for everyone.
I wasn’t a fan of the husband’s (Michael) comment on her booty and how he knew she was the one for him. If that’s how it went down, great for them! But I think it could have been left out because I truly felt sexualized as a woman. And it takes a lot to offend me in that sense.
One of my favorite parts was at the end, when she speaks on lesbianism - “I think statistically, there are more straight women in the WNBA than gay women. But really, who cares. As long as a player comes to work and does her job, she can live her life the way that she chooses.” Amen to that!
If you’re into women’s basketball, or basketball at all, this is a great read revolving around hoops in high school, college, professional, and international competition. I also recommend Venus to the Hoop by Sara Corbett!
It’s a great read and a great story. It was so interesting to learn that her single mother was a truck driver…and they named their dog Semi (haha)!! 4 stars given due to grammatical or typographical errors and a few other personal reasons.
I am a Christian and appreciate all the references to our Savior. I truly believe He is the reason for Lisa’s success! But I also understand the Christian references are not for everyone.
I wasn’t a fan of the husband’s (Michael) comment on her booty and how he knew she was the one for him. If that’s how it went down, great for them! But I think it could have been left out because I truly felt sexualized as a woman. And it takes a lot to offend me in that sense.
One of my favorite parts was at the end, when she speaks on lesbianism - “I think statistically, there are more straight women in the WNBA than gay women. But really, who cares. As long as a player comes to work and does her job, she can live her life the way that she chooses.” Amen to that!
If you’re into women’s basketball, or basketball at all, this is a great read revolving around hoops in high school, college, professional, and international competition. I also recommend Venus to the Hoop by Sara Corbett!
September 30, 2022
6'5 WNBA pioneer and model Lisa Leslie wears lipstick while playing, hence the name of her memoir. I love the WNBA from afar, so didn't know who Leslie was before reading her book. Damn! She's accomplished. She won all the awards, including gold medals in four Olympics, plus loads of MVPs.
Her story is a pretty quick read and I think well ghostwritten until the end when there's a lot of God talk that didn't appear earlier.
Her story is a pretty quick read and I think well ghostwritten until the end when there's a lot of God talk that didn't appear earlier.
April 10, 2018
it was a really good book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2018
it was a good book
January 1, 2019
Enjoyed reading her story of grit, determination, and perseverance!
March 19, 2020
Great book!!! Great for kids to read too!
November 28, 2022
Loved it so much. Inspired by it.
July 12, 2011
A three-time Olympic gold medalist, three-time MVP of the WNBA, and the first woman ever to dunk in a professional basketball game, Lisa Leslie is considered one of the greatest players in the history of women's basketball. Now in her own words, she points the spotlight onto her remarkable life off the court, where being a confident champion was not always simple.
As a child growing up in South Central Los Angeles, Lisa was timid, awkward, and over six feet tall in the sixth grade. Opponents challenged her, and she struggled to overcome self-imposed fears and limitations. But as her interest in basketball grew, she toughened both her game and her resolve. She also learned she could retain her femininity and throw a few elbows too.
Still there was a nagging notion that girls--even tall girls and especially pretty ones - could not play well. At the same time, Lisa's home life, though loving, was unstable. Lisa never knew her father. Her mother worked as a traveling truck-driver to support the family, leaving Lisa to shuffle between relatives. Lisa's beloved older sister seemed only to torment her, harbor hidden jealousies, and would later go on to steal her identity and almost ruin her finances. And as a young woman, it would take two broken engagements before Lisa finally found the love of her life.
Yet overcoming tremendous doubts are what paved the way to Lisa's greatest achievements--scoring 101 points in the first half of a high school basketball game; signing with Wilhelmina Models and appearing in Vogue magazine; and of course traveling the world and winning championship after championship...after championship.
Today, Lisa is a beautiful, poised, assertive, six-foot-five-inch basketball powerhouse. Her elegance and charm have made her a favorite with fans, the fashion world, and even Hollywood. With hard-won candor and self-assurance, Lisa Leslie shares her empowering story about finding grace under pressure, balancing a life of contradiction without losing yourself, and exceeding expectations--including your own--by playing like a girl.
As a child growing up in South Central Los Angeles, Lisa was timid, awkward, and over six feet tall in the sixth grade. Opponents challenged her, and she struggled to overcome self-imposed fears and limitations. But as her interest in basketball grew, she toughened both her game and her resolve. She also learned she could retain her femininity and throw a few elbows too.
Still there was a nagging notion that girls--even tall girls and especially pretty ones - could not play well. At the same time, Lisa's home life, though loving, was unstable. Lisa never knew her father. Her mother worked as a traveling truck-driver to support the family, leaving Lisa to shuffle between relatives. Lisa's beloved older sister seemed only to torment her, harbor hidden jealousies, and would later go on to steal her identity and almost ruin her finances. And as a young woman, it would take two broken engagements before Lisa finally found the love of her life.
Yet overcoming tremendous doubts are what paved the way to Lisa's greatest achievements--scoring 101 points in the first half of a high school basketball game; signing with Wilhelmina Models and appearing in Vogue magazine; and of course traveling the world and winning championship after championship...after championship.
Today, Lisa is a beautiful, poised, assertive, six-foot-five-inch basketball powerhouse. Her elegance and charm have made her a favorite with fans, the fashion world, and even Hollywood. With hard-won candor and self-assurance, Lisa Leslie shares her empowering story about finding grace under pressure, balancing a life of contradiction without losing yourself, and exceeding expectations--including your own--by playing like a girl.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 19, 2013
Yawn. I was a one time season ticket holder for the Sacramento Monarchs. I adored the game of the Houston Comets and Tina Thompson was the object of my unrequited adoration. I never met Lisa Leslie but I saw her play many times and heard her being interviewed as the "face" of the WNBA. At the time I thought she was a bit too egocentric for my tastes. Years later ( haven't been to a WNBA game since 2007 (I moved overseas and the Sacramento Franchise folded) but I do catch them on T.V. and follow the league a bit)- I read the book - her ego is too big for me. Yes.. it is an autobiography... but it seems to lack any sense of herself and her accomplishements in context. She is alnmost exclusively presented as the apex of any achievement - and her narrative always delivers this news with an inauthentic feeling of humility. "I didn't expect it but I was selected #1 at bla bla bla bla...." This piece seems just a bit too self congratulatory. And throughout the narrative there seems to be this sometimes subtle and sometimes in your face presentative of herself as the epitome of femininity in female athletics. It isn't until the final chapter when she writes of the perception that there is "a stigma of rampant lesbianism" running through women's basketball that the reader understands Lisa's dwelling on her femininity and heterosexuality. We get it Lisa - you are NOT a lesbian. I would rather read a book from one of her other contemporarys - Tina Thompson.. when are you going to write your story?
January 16, 2012
Two things I couldn't get past in this book: the misspelling of Maya Moore's name and the part where Lisa Leslie says gay people are sinners. I did enjoy the solid history of the past several years of womens basketball history!
Read
September 1, 2008Interesting to read about Lisa Leslie's life as she grew up.
February 24, 2009
YOU GO GIRL! I really liked the book!!!!!!!!
September 26, 2008
Written for a young audience.
Read
May 1, 2009Not my cup of tea. I think I will give it to one of my students who's a HS girls basketball player.
February 20, 2016
Love the book!!!
March 27, 2017
Don’t Let the Title Fool You
I strongly recommend this book for numerous reasons this review should provide a good base in which you can make your decision to read this book.
Everyone has heard zero to hero stories in the form of a fairytale or a graphic novel or even just a blockbuster hit weather it is an orphan who defeats a great wizard or a young girl in poverty who overthrows the government they give an impossible sense of hope . But how many of those are true stories. Lisa Leslie may not have superpowers or a wand but her story is just as thrilling and it’s real.
I would strongly recommend this book it is a definite must read This book shows the evolution of a professional basketball player between a rough home life and being outcasted at school this book shows her adversity. I can connect to her story because I am an athlete to and it is cool to see how much it takes to make it. It obviously paid off because she has won multiple awards 3 WNBA MVP's, 2 WNBA DOPY's, 3 ESPYS for Best WNBA Player, Naismith POY in college and highschool,1 Glamour award, and finally 1 BET Award .
I would strongly recommend this book because at one point or another everyone can relate to it. Her adolescence was a rollercoaster of every fairy tale and nightmare a child could have. She was beaten she was happy she was spoiled she was homesick it just depended on the year. It’s an important detail because it showed that if she can make it out of that and into the WNBA anyone could. This is a key feature in the excellence of this book because no matter how you grew up or what your environment was there was probably some similarities. Although that is not the only reason that you should read this book .
Another reason I would recommend this book is because Lisa was supposed to end up being a nobody and ended up being an olympian and a WNBA powerhouse. Lisa was extremely famous in her prime but through all the publicity she always remembered where and what she came from and remembered that hard work got her their. This is an important key in reading because with all of fame none of it went to her head she always felt as though she had something to prove which isn’t a bad mentality to live life with. Along with others this is an important life lesson that Lisa teaches. I could go on and on about how great this book is but not everyone will see it the same way as I do.
A possible reason for someone not liking this book is maybe getting a little lost she does jump around a lot but just because there was so much to tell. If you don’t like basketball I would not recommend you reading this. Considering she was a professional basketball player it’s common sense that her biography would have a lot of basketball in it.There is more than one reason that a person may not like this book. In the book she talk as though you would expect anyone at that age to talk. Her voice or words mature throughout the book which could possibly become irritating and confusing although it didn’t for me. It is really hard to find negatives in such a good book but I hope I managed to give enough warnings for those of you who do not find interest any longer.
In conclusion I would recommend this book for nearly everyone except maybe children who do not yet understand the choices or severity of the situations. You know a book is good when I was able to read 150 pages on a school night. Before reading this book I do recommend knowing a little bit about Lisa and here are some websites that will help http://www.biography.com/ http://www.imdb.com/. Lisa’s persistence, relatability, and how grounded she is makes this book a must read and her the ideal role model.
I strongly recommend this book for numerous reasons this review should provide a good base in which you can make your decision to read this book.
Everyone has heard zero to hero stories in the form of a fairytale or a graphic novel or even just a blockbuster hit weather it is an orphan who defeats a great wizard or a young girl in poverty who overthrows the government they give an impossible sense of hope . But how many of those are true stories. Lisa Leslie may not have superpowers or a wand but her story is just as thrilling and it’s real.
I would strongly recommend this book it is a definite must read This book shows the evolution of a professional basketball player between a rough home life and being outcasted at school this book shows her adversity. I can connect to her story because I am an athlete to and it is cool to see how much it takes to make it. It obviously paid off because she has won multiple awards 3 WNBA MVP's, 2 WNBA DOPY's, 3 ESPYS for Best WNBA Player, Naismith POY in college and highschool,1 Glamour award, and finally 1 BET Award .
I would strongly recommend this book because at one point or another everyone can relate to it. Her adolescence was a rollercoaster of every fairy tale and nightmare a child could have. She was beaten she was happy she was spoiled she was homesick it just depended on the year. It’s an important detail because it showed that if she can make it out of that and into the WNBA anyone could. This is a key feature in the excellence of this book because no matter how you grew up or what your environment was there was probably some similarities. Although that is not the only reason that you should read this book .
Another reason I would recommend this book is because Lisa was supposed to end up being a nobody and ended up being an olympian and a WNBA powerhouse. Lisa was extremely famous in her prime but through all the publicity she always remembered where and what she came from and remembered that hard work got her their. This is an important key in reading because with all of fame none of it went to her head she always felt as though she had something to prove which isn’t a bad mentality to live life with. Along with others this is an important life lesson that Lisa teaches. I could go on and on about how great this book is but not everyone will see it the same way as I do.
A possible reason for someone not liking this book is maybe getting a little lost she does jump around a lot but just because there was so much to tell. If you don’t like basketball I would not recommend you reading this. Considering she was a professional basketball player it’s common sense that her biography would have a lot of basketball in it.There is more than one reason that a person may not like this book. In the book she talk as though you would expect anyone at that age to talk. Her voice or words mature throughout the book which could possibly become irritating and confusing although it didn’t for me. It is really hard to find negatives in such a good book but I hope I managed to give enough warnings for those of you who do not find interest any longer.
In conclusion I would recommend this book for nearly everyone except maybe children who do not yet understand the choices or severity of the situations. You know a book is good when I was able to read 150 pages on a school night. Before reading this book I do recommend knowing a little bit about Lisa and here are some websites that will help http://www.biography.com/ http://www.imdb.com/. Lisa’s persistence, relatability, and how grounded she is makes this book a must read and her the ideal role model.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews