Exclusive: Olympic Gymnast Aly Raisman Is Turning Her Private Journals Into a Memoir

Six-time Olympic medalist Aly Raisman is publishing a memoir about her life as a gymnast, covering everything from her first “mommy and me” gymnastics class as a toddler to her second time captaining Team USA to gold.

The memoir, titled Fierce: How Competing for Myself Changed Everything, is aimed at readers ages 12 and up and is meant to be an inspiring story of perseverance. The book will document not only the moments of glory, but the long, hard hours of work it took to get there — not to mention the stumbling blocks, like classmates who body-shamed Raisman for her impressive muscles.

“Like many young girls,” Raisman said in a statement to TIME, “I first started collecting my thoughts and feelings by writing in a journal. As my journey progressed and evolved, I realized that I wanted to share it by writing a book. I’m excited to partner with Little, Brown and share some of the best moments of my life as well as some of the hardships that I experienced along the way, all of which have helped shape who I am today. I hope people of all ages can relate to the ups and downs we all experience in life, and believe that we can accomplish anything we set our minds to.”

Since competing at the 2016 games, Raisman, 23, has appeared on Dancing With the Stars and used her platform to promote body positivity body positivity. In May, she sounded off about a TSA agent who commented on her physique, tweeting, “I work very hard to be healthy & fit. The fact that a man thinks he judge my arms pisses me off.” In February, she posed for Sports Illustrated‘s Swimsuit Issue, commenting, “I did the issue because I love my body. I can express myself in any way that I want. But that doesn’t give anyone the right to judge me.”

Fierce is slated for publication on November 14.

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