Beautiful On the Outside

 Book 46 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

 read from June 24 - July 1

Beautiful on the Outside

by Adam Rippon

Summary (via Goodreads)

published 2019

Your mom probably told you it's what on the inside that counts. Well, then she was never a competitive figure skater. Olympic medalist Adam Rippon has been making it pretty for the judges even when, just below the surface, everything was an absolute mess. From traveling to practices on the Greyhound bus next to ex convicts to being so poor he could only afford to eat the free apples at his gym, Rippon got through the toughest times with a smile on his face, a glint in his eye, and quip ready for anyone listening. 

Beautiful on the Outside looks at his journey from a homeschooled kid in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to a self-professed American sweetheart on the world stage and all the disasters and self-delusions it took to get him there. Yeah, it may be what's on the inside that counts, but life is so much better when it's beautiful on the outside.

My Opinion

4 stars

I've been reading a lot of memoirs/biographies during this pandemic for a few reasons.  First, I'm a big library user so when the libraries are closed and I'm reading from my "home shelves" I don't have as many options for non-fiction.  There is no shortage of fiction books for me to choose from but most of my non-fiction options are memoirs/biographies.  Second, my pandemic reading has led me to seek out "lighter" options; with so much uncertainty in the world, I can't tax my brain with more information.  Third, it's a little bit of a copout as far as my workload.  I generally don't judge memoirs when reviewing them and only talk about the writing style/presentation so reading a lot of them means I don't have to put as much thought into what I want to say here.  Yet I still managed to get behind on publishing my reviews.  It happens every year!  

So that was a lot of writing to say this...I like Adam Rippon's interviews and was able to hear his voice as I was reading it.  He didn't hold back and I learned a lot, even if some of the tougher times were glossed over in an "all's well that ends well" kind of tone.  But that's also his overall vibe which is why it felt authentic...experience it, make a snarky joke about it to ease the tension, and try to move on.

Quote from the Book

"That summer I also dyed my hair purple, which meant that it now clashed with my red-and-yellow costume, which meant I needed something new to wear to my competition. Yes, that is the gayest sentence in this entire book."