Breaking the Surface: How Greg Louganis Overcame Prejudice to Take Home Olympic Gold (LGBTQ+ Sports Memoir) - Softcover

Louganis, Greg; Marcus, Eric

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1402206666 ISBN 13: 9781402206665

Publisher: Sourcebooks, 2006

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review:

Greg Louganis won back-to-back double gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, and his amazing physique and handsome face should have made him a media superstar. Yet Louganis's struggles with self-doubt lack of confidence held him back personally and professionally. He only achieved real happiness after coming out as an HIV-positive gay man. This is a thoughtful, sensitive portrait of a man whose insecurities nearly destroyed him, but who found the love and inner strength to save himself.

About the Author:

Greg Louganis is a four-time Olympic gold-medal diving champion. He lives in Malibu, California, where he raises and trains Harlequin Great Danes.

Eric Marcus is the author of several books, including Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945 to 1990; Is it a Choice? and Why Suicide? He lives in New York City.

About this edition

• Publisher: Sourcebooks
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1402206666
• ISBN 13: 9781402206665
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 348