Big Girl in the Middle

by Gabrielle Reece

The new superstars in sports are women, and pro beach volleyball player Gabrielle Reece is the hottest of them all. At six-foot-three, 170 pounds, Gabby Reece is at once beautiful and brutish, feminine and rowdy, accessible and intimidating--a woman who is exploding female stereotypes and redefining our image of the female athlete.

"A young girl doesn't get many chances to exercise the character muscle via sports, whereas for young boys, it's part of their everyday lives. For girls, it's especially good for them to be forced to work as a team with other girls, to work together under every possible condition--winning, losing, tired, grumpy, happy. It forces them to deal with unpleasant, ungracious emotions and get over it. It forces girls to rely on each other. It gives them confidence in other girls, which ultimately gives them confidence in themselves."

"Everything a woman does has an emotional component. Paying attention to my emotional side without surrendering to it is one of the toughest parts of playing professional sports."

"I don't like this 'Fear of Being Big' thing because it feeds into the general female thing of wanting to be less--less powerful, less assertive, less demanding, less opinionated, less present, less big."

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Biography

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1997

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was published in 1997, so she has accomplished much more since this book. The style of the book was intriguing...one chapter from Karen Karbo about what she witnessed during the volleyball season of 1996 (a sad year for Team Nike - Gaby's team - they lost...most of the time.) and then a chapter from Gaby, about what its like being a female athlete - how the modeling affects the athleticism. I enjoyed this book A LOT.

Best quote is from Gaby:

"Now I've gotten to the place where 'I just don't feel like it' is no longer part of my vocabulary. My advice to women: take the emotion out of it." from page 216

She is an inspiration, and more than because she can play a sport and is beautiful enough that she doesn't even have to play it well (tho she does) Its because of how she has handled things in her life, from childhood on.

[Pam Masters · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a volleyball fan I love to read about players and where they come from, what makes them tick. I never realized what she went through, where she came from. It made me respect her even more.

[Radawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love biographies and she is an interesting woman. I love to read inspiring stories about real people and the things they overcome to achieve.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Gabby, but she comes off as a bit into herself in this book. We know you're beautiful, Gabby, you can quit telling us! :)