Review: "Outofshapeworthlessloser" by Gracie Gold

Outofshapeworthlessloser by Gracie Gold
Published February 2024 via Crown
★★★

First there was Grace Elizabeth—happy on skates, but without skating being her whole life. Then there was Gracie Gold—gold in name and on the ice. And then, perhaps inevitably in the pressure cooker that is a competitive, heavily image-focused sport, there was Outofshapeworthlessloser.

Gold is not here to pull punches—while her primary focus is on skating, and her skating career, she also delves deep into what was going on both in skating culture and within her personal life that impacted that career, for better and often for worse. I don't follow skating, but it sounds like a roller coaster of an experience, both on and off the ice.

Mostly chronological, the book loses some focus near the end as Gold shifts to occasional non-linear chapters. In particular, I wished that the chapters about her current relationship and about her changing chest size had been folded into the rest of the book rather than standing largely alone—the latter in particular makes sense in the context of the book, as skating is ones of those sports where a shifting body can require a lot of adjustments, but setting it as a separate chapter dilutes the impact (we don't see it affecting Gold throughout) and adds to the occasional sense that this is her chance for a manifesto. (Or...a chance to get things off her chest?)

Gold is perhaps at her most interesting when considering how different coaching styles impacted her training—in particular, the focus on (to paraphrase) the way young skaters are often asked to give 110% until they burn out, and her wondering whether there could be a different, more sustainable model that would allow skaters longer, healthier careers. I don't have the background for an informed opinion on what sort of success is possible with a comeback after the rise and (partial) fall of a skating career, but she raises interesting questions about when, and under what circumstances, it is time to call it quits—and when it is worth carrying on.

Skating is still very much Gold's world, in various ways, but I'll be curious to see whether her eventual next steps are in line with that or whether she'll shift directions.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.