Solo: A Memoir of Hope by Hope Solo

There is much to be said about this outspoken goal keeper for the US Women’s National Team. Some people will describe her as selfish, some as too outgoing. People say she needs to keep her comments to herself. To me, she is an amazing goal keeper who says the things many people think, but are too afraid to say, and doesn’t care what the media says about her. Why should she? She is an Olympic gold medalist – more than once, and the greatest goal keeper in the world. In her autobiography, you, as the reader, gain an insight into what made Hope into the person she is today.

When you think of star athletes, you think of fame, fortune maybe, and having a life where everyone looks up to you. For Hope, the story did not go that way. She has had to face much adversity to get to the place she is today.

Her books takes you through stories about her personal family life, some of which could be really hard to share with people. Especially knowing the media hasn’t always been on your side – there will always be critics. The stories are filled with emotion, and gives you a pretty good insight into the type of person she is, which does not include selfish.

There aren’t many good ways to critique an autobiography, you can’t judge the story, because it is all real. But, the writing in this book was full of intelligence and class. Hope has faced many issues with her team and with the media, she explains how every one of those events came about. She may not apologize for everything she says, which she shouldn’t, but she gives her perspective on the situations and makes you realize that the media does, in fact, blow things up in order to get a good story.

It will have you crying one minute, then laughing the next. I guarantee, if you ever had a negative opinion about Hope, your mind will instantly be changed after reading this emotion-filled memoir.

5/5 stars. Beautifully written, and had me hooked from the very first page.

Read ahead for spoilers

The stories that shook me the most were the stories about her child hood dog dying and also her father dying.

The story about the women’s world cup in 2007 had me very worked up. I thought she was treated unfairly by her team and coach, and was happy when I read that he was fired.