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Breaking the Surface by Greg Louganis,Eric Marcus β€” book cover
General Gay & Lesbian Biographies, Swimming & Diving, Sport Figures - General & Miscellaneous - Biography, Gay Men Biographies, Swimming & Diving (Olympics), Teen Fiction - Sports, Water Sports - Biography, Olympics, Olympians - Biography

Breaking the Surface

by Greg Louganis, Eric Marcus
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Overview

This is a new edition of Greg Louganis's 1995 #1 New York Times bestselling autobiography and Literary Guild Selection. It is the unflinchingly honest first-person account of a man breaking free of a lifetime of silence and isolation.

Born to a young Samoan father and Northern European mother, and adopted at nine months, Greg began diving at age nine, and at sixteen won a silver medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. But despite his astonishing athletic skill, Greg struggled with late-detected dyslexia, prejudice toward his dark skin coloring and anguish over his homosexuality, which he felt compelled to hide. Being in the spotlight intensified his difficulties with relationships and substance abuse.

However, Louganis went on to win double gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. His triumph at the 1988 Olympics came several months after he tested positive for HIV. This is the haunting, searingly candid story of the world's greatest diver. This new edition includes a new foreword.

Breaking the Surface tells the unflinchingly honest story of Olympic diving champion Greg Louganis, whose athletic success also involved the challenge of breaking free of a lifetime of silence and isolation. In this frank, powerful memoir, Louganis reveals the whole story of his life--from a childhood marked by loneliness and self-esteem problems to his present-day battle with AIDS. of photos.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Four-time Olympic diving champion Louganis's memoir, acknowledging that he had tested HIV-positive several months prior to the 1988 Olympics, was a PW bestseller for nine weeks. (Mar.)

From Barnes & Noble

The championship diver reveals his problem-ridden childhood, his struggle to conceal his homosexuality, & the bitter disappointment over losing endorsements after 4 stunning Olympic wins. A powerful story of courage & perseverance. B&W photos.

Book Details

Published
March 1, 1995
Publisher
New York : Random House, c1995.
Pages
290
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780679437031

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