This book encapsulates the entire Ronda Rousey. If you love Rousey, there are plenty more reasons to love her found within this book. If you hate Rousey, there is plenty of ammo to be used in this book as well.
The book begins with Ronda explaining her own passion. She explains that
her emotions do indeed run high and that she believes every true champion to be the same. “…passion escapes as tears from my eyes, sweat from my pores, blood from my veins… I wear my heart on my sleeve,” she says. Rousey compares daily life to a fight; a fight that requires focus and dedication to win.
As the book continues readers get an inside perspective on what sort of sacrifices Rousey has made in order to achieve her goals. In high school, she was already one of the best judoka to ever come out of the United States. As a teenager, she moved across the country and trained in the basement of an isolated cabin in order to be around and learn from the best. She has jumped from training camp to training camp in order to be the best possible version of herself.
Ronda offers a very sincere insight into her life after the Olympics. She faced many problems, some she caused, while others were caused for her. Regardless, her life was not an easy one. Making the transition to MMA was a long and difficult one. Her current coach originally wanted nothing to do with her, but relented due to her persistence. Gaining the success in MMA she had was no accident, or the result of circumstances. Women’s MMA was nearly unheard of before she became involved. She is responsible for much of the current success WMMA has seen.
This book also shows readers the agony of losing and the ecstasy of winning, and how the feeling that comes with a win is a fleeting one. To Rousey, winning is an addiction. It’s a drug that must always be chased. A past win can only satisfy for so long before another must be had. However, to Rousey, a loss is permanent.
Rousey shows the complexity of her character in this book. For the most part, people only see her as the media portrays her life. One can’t help to want to categorize her as the hero or the heel based on what sports media shows the public. However, the fact of the matter is that she is both hero and heel rolled into one. There are chapters in which she discussed her rivalry with Miesha Tate and her (seemingly unfounded, even from Rousey’s own telling of the story) hatred of her. There are passages in which she belittles, without justification, numerous other competitors she has faced in both Judo and MMA.
However, there are also passages in which Rousey shows her extreme compassion and empathy for others, including some of her former opponents. Ronda is neither the hero nor the heel. She is instead, a complex, and multi-layered individual. She is a person; a human being with flaws, faults, triumphs, and perfections. Rousey can be cruel, but she can also be kind.
This book will give readers the most honest version of Ronda Rousey they will ever be able to have without knowing her personally.
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