I may be inadvertently cyber stalking Abby Wambach right now

Forward by Abby Wambach

If you looked at my search history right now, you'd probably think I'm super obsessed with Abby Wambach. And maybe a borderline stalker. I promise I just really enjoyed her first book- Forward.

We also happen to have grown up in the same town and I was genuinely curious what part of the town she grew up in. And I was pretty sure I had heard of the resort on Kauai where she got married because I just happened to go to that island on my honeymoon and wouldn't you know it, I stayed less than 10 minutes from there!

Abby, I promise I'm not stalking you. I am far too lazy for that. Also, I'd probably be the worst stalker ever because I'm pretty sure she doesn't still live in upstate New York and is not still staying at that resort in Kauai.

And I still hasn't gotten to the point
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I'm going to stop using the word stalker now and talk about the book, I promise.

The recommendation to read Abby Wambach's first book "Forward", actually came from my therapist. One of my favorite things about therapy is the mini book club we have at the end where we talk about what we're reading and what we'd suggest for the other person. My therapist is the best.

She suggested I check the book out and I looked it up that night and read the whole thing in about 24 hours. It was a weekend, so that explains part of it. But it was also a fucking good read.

I am not exactly a sports viewer (unless you count the Olympics and I only watch those for the women's gymnastics) but I cannot resist a memoir, especially written by a famous person. I've read every good gymnastics memoir out there (I'm looking at you "Chalked Up") so this isn't my first foray into a sports memoir.

That said, I was glad she kept it fairly light on the sports recaps and metaphors. Even if you've never seen or participated in a sport in your life, you'll probably find something to relate to here. One of the things I was struck by was how self aware Wambach seems. She was straightforward in her storytelling and wasn't afraid to share insight on events she wishes she handled differently.

She talks about soccer being her identity- an experience that a lot of professional athletes go through. Once you're doing playing the sport, who are you? As a non-professional athlete (or you know, just a non-athlete), this is something I find fascinating. I've never had one specific activity that defined all the aspects of my personality, but I can relate on a smaller scale. I felt this way when I graduated from college. I was facing the prospect of no longer being a student and having to be an adult. It wasn't an easy transition for me. I wasn't sure what defined success as an adult and it took me while into my 30s to figure out that I had a personality and interests beyond school and going out five nights a week.

I am looking forward to reading her newest book, Wolfpack, but haven't had a chance to yet. I'm sure it will be really interesting because I'm also a fan of Glennon Doyle as well (whom she is now married to).