Chellsie's Challenges: Life Lessons Learned From an Olympic Gymnast

by Chellsie Memmel

Gymnastics has been Chellsie’s passion for as long as she can remember and has given her so much. She was fortunate to set her goals high and reach them through hard work, determination, perseverance, and the help of some amazing people in her corner. Follow along with Chellsie as she takes you on a journey through the highs and lows of her elite gymnastics career and the lessons she learned along the way.

We are all capable of doing amazing things if we are willing to put in the work. We just need to challenge ourselves and go for it.

86 pages, Paperback

Published March 5, 2023

Reviews

[Rachelle Cobb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m on a gymnastics memoir kick this week, and this one is my favorite. Very well-written and I loved how she details her comeback (how inspiring!).

[Elizabeth Guliuzza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational

While this book is a quick read, don’t let the size of the book fool you. It is jam packed with inspirational stories of Chellsie’s journey in gymnastics and life. The road was not easy, but Chellsie continued to rise to the challenge (pun intended) and push through. I recommend this for any gymnastics fan, but also every woman, especially mothers as we navigate the many things pulling us in different ways. May we all follow Chellsie’s example and rise to the challenge of being the best person we can be.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, short, and sweet. Light on details, but I love Chellsie and her gymnastics journey, so still, I felt quite inspired by the advice she shared. Her advice about setting goals and working hard towards them despite setbacks applies to much of life beyond gymnastics - worth reading, IMO (:

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

short

Being as accomplished as she is, I read elf this book could have been really done better and more detailed and not rushed. It was nice seeing she had a “book” but only 68 small pages?

[Brooke S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful, inspiring, quick little read! My only complaint is that I wish there was more!

[Wende · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chelsie’s. challenges

I enjoyed reading this book. It shared stories of her life and gymnastics career while at the same time encouraging others to do their best

[Scott Rola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved following Chellsie’s career and comeback around 2020 on YouTube; this book was a great reminder to look out for those ‘goosebump’ moments and enjoy the process!

[Liralen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heartfelt but underdeveloped. Memmel is a top gymnast—she has more than a few gold medals to her name, plus an Olympic silver—and this slim book takes the reader through some of her competitions. Unfortunately, while the writing is fine, the structure and plotting leave something to be desired. The first half of the book is a runthrough of early life and competitions up until she retired; there's a brief break where she talks about doing other things, like getting married and having kids and trying out American Ninja Warrior, and then most of the second half is about returning to gymnastics. (I do appreciate that when Memmel started gymnastics, her gymnast parents put her in a gym other than their own for the sake of boundaries and maintaining a healthy relationship—I've read too many memoirs talking about parent-coach relationships being difficult!) But it's short: the Kindle edition clocks in at 68 pages, leaving precious little time for things like character development or what it felt like to be in the gym, or on the competition floor, or even things like how she met her husband.

Obviously I don't know whether Memmel looked for an established publisher (and, if so, what conversations were had) or whether she always intended to self-publish, but I wish she'd gone the established-publisher route and worked with a ghostwriter to really flesh out her story. It seems to be that this is one perk of being on a global stage—if you want to tell your story, there are absolutely publishers out there who will want to help you shape that story and amplify your voice. There's potential here, but it's not fully tapped.

[Jennifer Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just wanted more

Chellsie Memmel is a World Champion gymnast whose career eventually spanned decades. This book touches on some of the highs and lows she experienced through her career and my only complaint is that there should be more. As a former gymnast myself, I longed for more detail, more stories. I don’t know if athletes feel that the general public/reader would be bored if they write about training and competition, but I know it’s something I really crave, especially with someone with a career as interesting and eventful as Chellsie’s. Still, it’s a great (and quick) read and there’s a lot of wisdom imparted.