figure skating, biography

I enjoyed reading this story very much. I loved the casual and personal tone, and all the little anecdotes. I felt like I'd gotten to know Katya and Sergei through this book. Needless to say, I was deeply moved and saddened once again at how the story ends. A sad yet beautiful love story! ( )

This has to be one of the most tear-jerking books I have ever read. It is a beautiful story and I can remember watching the TV when this happened. It was so sad. Read this book.

Back Cover Blurb:
Thrown together as children by the Soviet regime and told to skate for the good of the state, Sergei Grinkov and Katia Gordeeva became the most celebrated pairs skaters in the world - falling madly in love, marrying, and having a beautiful baby daughter. But after winning two Olympic gold medals and four World Championships, Katia's world collapsed when Sergei suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 28. This is a deeply moving, heartfelt memoir of their remarkable lives, and this is Katia's final love letter to her beloved Sergei. ( )

Gordeeva and Grinkov were my favorite pair skaters during the 80s and early 90s, but for some reason, I did not read this book until now. It isnt the best as far as writing goes, but the love story is amazing and absolutely beautiful. Katia tells the heartwarming and passionate story of the fairy tale romance that she shared with her beloved Sergei, beginning with their meeting when she was 11 and ending with his untimely death, and her moving performance following the tragedy. The book was especially interesting to me, because it was filled with people Ive met and places Ive been during my many years of skating. Its an easy read that you will finish in one or two sittings, and it will make you weep, but it will be worth it. ( )

Touching, tragic. ( )