AN ATHLETE AUTHOR

Inspiration Through Empowering Books

Unfavorable Odds

Kim Hamilton was anything but a typical world-class gymnast. She was one of the few black gymnasts in the 70’s and 80’s. As she battled racial and socioeconomic barriers, she became instrumental in helping to pave the way for future Black gymnasts.

Kim lived in two different worlds. One - with her white middle-class teammates, the other - a secret world filled with drugs, violence, and financial strain. But Kim overcame unfavorable odds, and she triumphed through perseverance. Read about her journey and the techniques she used that propelled her from a painful past to a purposeful future.

Read the foreword by Tony and Lauren Dungy →

Why I Wrote My Book

In the late 1990’s I was part of a mentoring program USA Gymnastics had begun for the Women’s National Team. Former US National Team members dating as far back as the Olympic Teams from the 1960’s, gathered together to kick off the program’s inaugural year. During our time, a few people were asked to tell about their gymnastics experience. I was the only African-American in the room and was asked to share as well. So, I told them about my career and the struggles I faced, which were quite different from what the others had experienced.

  • Upon hearing of the very different background I had come from, the entire room stared at me in disbelief. Each of these former elite gymnasts had worked endlessly to acquire the status of US National Team Member, but they all agreed that they could not imagine having to withstand the pressures of the sport and the types of pressures I had to face outside the gym. Sharon Shapiro, former UCLA gymnast and fellow Hall of Fame Inductee sat me down and told me, “You really need to write a book.” She also offered to help me any way she could. Sharon’s encouragement was enough to get me started.

    In 2001, I was asked to speak at the Ft. Lauderdale Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast. John Tesh was the keynote speaker and my assignment was to briefly share, how I became a Christian and how my life was changed as a result. For days, as I prepared for my talk I sat with pen in hand, scribbling out thoughts that ended up crumpled in the wastebasket.

    Then one night I woke up around 2:00 a.m. with various scenes from my early life racing through my mind. As I searched, in the dark, for a pen and paper, it dawned on me how some of my childhood experiences had a negative impact on my current view of self. Thankfully, it was my relationship with God that had given me a new perspective on life and I was able to thrive instead of just survive. This ended up becoming the core of the message I would be sharing at the Breakfast.

    Though I felt it was not at all spectacular, the response to my five-minute life story was overwhelming. God used this brief narrative of my changed life, to stir the hearts of some 2,000 people who were not even involved in gymnastics. Following the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, I began receiving requests to speak at various events around the city and eventually around the nation. The guests at these events always felt encouraged by my story and many times they would approach me afterwards and ask where they could buy my book. For several years, I watched them walk away disappointed, because they were eager to read the rest of the story, but it had not been written yet. However, with consistent prodding and support from my husband and others, the story is now in print.

    I wrote the book with the hope of encouraging and inspiring everyone who reads it. I want others to know that they, too, can endure, overcome, and even thrive in the midst of the difficulties they face.

    Challenging circumstances don’t have to define your future. There can actually be a story of Brilliance on the other side of your Resilience.

Writing My Memoir

The most difficult part of my book was re-living the painful past. I had to admit that the wounds I experienced growing up were still unhealed and affecting me as an adult. There were several times when I had to stop writing and deal with my emotions. 

Sometimes it took months or even a year before I could begin to write again. It was a long 10-year process, but the healing that came along with it was invaluable.

  • Lesley Visser, Sportscaster

    “This is a story for anyone who feels the hurdles are too high, the valleys too deep. Kim’s journey from the streets of Richmond to the UCLA Hall of Fame will fill you with joy and hope, rooted in the certainty that perseverance is the greatest gift of all.”

  • Chris Riley, marriage and family therapist and wife of Hall of Fame Coach Pat Riley

    “Kim Anthony’s book is a moving account of faith, reconciliation, and the power of forgiveness. It is both painful and uplifting—one incredible journey that should not be missed.”

  • Ruth Riley, Olympic gold medalist, WNBA

    “The transparency by which Kim recalls the hardships of her life allows us to experience a spectrum of emotions. It is a truly inspirational story of how faith takes her from abandonment, adversity, and insecurity to forgiveness, love, and purpose.”