Excellent book to read for those who are working with adults who were elite child athletes. I emphasis elite because it is a very narrow field, that 1-2%. This book exposes a world that coaches, parents, and athletes themselves keep hidden. Having been a former professional figure skater, I can tell you I was on the ice 6-8 hours a day starting at the age of eight. I could relate to what Joan Ryan said about gymnasts. It WAS that same world for us; injured, sick, or not you still worked out. This book is not to set up to show the wonderful side of this lifestyle, it is to show you the side that is seen by those who have had a childhood of people controlling them to become what Americans see "Little Girls in Pretty Boxes".