Nathan Chen's "One Jump at a Time" memoir

[Sylvia]

Officially on sale today! Nathan's post (he dedicated his book to his parents & four siblings): https://www.instagram.com/p/ClRAIvJrnmd/

Publisher's page:

One Jump at a Time

In this exhilarating memoir, three-time World Champion and Olympic gold-medalist Nathan Chen tells the story of his remarkable journey to success, reflecting on his life as a Chinese American figure skater and the joys and challenges he has experienced—including the tremendous sacrifices he an

www.harpercollins.com

Excerpt from his book:

'I just lay there in the darkness': Nathan Chen details 2018 Olympic experience in new book

Nathan Chen discusses the 2018 Olympics in an excerpt from the gold medalist figure skater's book, "One Jump at a Time."

olympics.nbcsports.com

USA Today article:

Nathan Chen chats new memoir, Olympics future, 'words of encouragement' from Serena Williams

Nathan Chen talks all things ice skating, Olympics and more in his new memoir, "One Jump at a Time," out Tuesday.

www.usatoday.com

USFS Fan Zone article:

Nathan Chen Discusses New Memoir “One Jump at a Time" - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

Today, Nathan Chen releases his debut memoir, "One Jump at a Time: My Story." He called the writing process "insightful" and said it offered him a chance to reflect.

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

Nathan's 4-minute interview on New York Live TV yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCtDh1jfyyA

A short review:

ONE JUMP AT A TIME | Kirkus Reviews

Chen chronicles what it took to become the first Asian American male figure skater to win a gold medal at the Olympics.

www.kirkusreviews.com

In person book signing on Saturday, December 3 from 12 noon to 2 PM at the Barnes & Noble (Derby Street Shops) in Hingham, Mass.:

Book Signing with Author and Olympic Gold Medalist Nathan Chen - Derby Street Shops

Join us for a book signing with Olympic Gold Medalist and author, Nathan Chen. About...

derbystshops.com

 

[tony]

The book is slightly cheaper on Amazon at $19.99, and there's a Black Friday week special buy 3 for the price of 2 on many different books.

Amazon.com: One Jump at a Time: My Story: 9780063280526: Chen, Nathan: Books

Amazon.com: One Jump at a Time: My Story: 9780063280526: Chen, Nathan: Books

a.co

 

[Sylvia]

Figure Skating in Harlem's joint post with Nathan: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClRqgPnPAz8/

We've teamed up with Nathan to give away five signed copies of his new book!
To enter:
Follow @figureskatinginharlem
Like this post
Tag a friend in the comments and share how they've inspired you to follow your dreams

*Open to U.S. entrants only. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with, Instagram. Giveaway ends Friday, November 25, at 11:59 pm EST. Winners will be notified via Instagram DM by @figureskatinginharlem on Monday, November 28.

 

[Sylvia]

For Los Angeles area fans... There will be "a special guest appearance and autograph signing by Olympic Champion Nathan Chen on Sunday, November 27 from 4PM - 5PM on Chick Hearn Court at L.A. LIVE!" More info on this weekend's Toyota Sports Festival:

Toyota Sports Festival | L.A. LIVE

Come experience the power of sport with Toyota at Toyota Sports Fest! We will be taking over L.A. LIVE November 26 and 27 for an exciting celebration and first-of-its-kind sports festival.

www.lalive.com

 

[Sylvia]

Kimberly Nicoletti reviewed Nathan's book for the Vail Daily (Nathan is headlining a show in Vail, CO on Dec. 23rd):

Nathan Chen’s ‘One Jump at a Time’ reveals what it takes to be a champ

Whether or not you’re fortunate enough to hold a ticket to Vail Ice Spectacular on Dec. 23, Nathan Chen’s autobiography will give you a front-row seat to skating, as it shows what it takes to...

www.vaildaily.com

Excerpt:

He hadn’t considered triple axels or quad jumps until he saw men landing them in international competitions when he was on the junior circuit. After that, he (at age 12) and his mom moved to Lake Arrowhead, California from Salt Lake City to work with the best jump technician he’s ever met, he said. However, the relationship wasn’t always easy; his coach, Raf, wanted Chen to take ownership for figuring out what to do in practice, but Chen sometimes interpreted that as being ignored.
Later Raf explained if he would’ve “inserted himself into those moments, I wouldn’t have learned how to manage my emotions and make the corrections on my own that I needed to in order to grow as an athlete,” Chen wrote. [...]
Throughout the book, Chen reveals his struggles, accomplishments, fears during COVID-19 and what it was like at the Beijing Games, in the same city his parents had left. Readers finish “One Jump at a Time” with a greater understanding of Chen’s journey, as well an inspiring faith in the power of family, love and dedication.

Re. the audio version of the book:

Nathan narrates the audio version. He actually does a pretty good job with it. Someone got him to slow down a little. I started out with the audio only because I don't have time to sit and read. That let me play it in the car or while I was cleaning/cooking. It is more expensive though. I think somewhere around $30. I ended up getting the eBook version for the pictures. It was $13 so I splurged on seeing a baby Nathan in diapers up to his gold medal Olympics.

Here's Brian Boitano plugging Nathan's book as a holiday gift this year : https://www.instagram.com/p/CmPPAK6PHiW/

 

[Sylvia]

Skating Club of Boston hosted a book signing with Nathan earlier this month (report via Norwood Community Media's YT channel): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xluO_vjhZnQ

Tickets are on sale for SC of Boston's ICE CHIPS show starring Nathan on April 7-8, 2023: https://scboston.org/ice-chips/

 

[Sylvia]

Re-posting from his fan thread (where there are links to videos from the 12/23/22 Vail show) - thanks @LeafOnTheWind (did you think it was a worthwhile listen/read overall?):

I certainly hope that any up and coming skaters and all coaches take the time to listen/read Nathan's book. I hope they take away from it that training obsessively doesn't equal success. You need to let your body rest. Chapter 4 is a hard listen regarding his mindset and how not to approach the Olympics.

 

[mtnskater]

Mr. Mtnskater gave me Nathan’s book for Christmas. An autographed version no less Can’t wait to read it!

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

Re-posting from his fan thread (where there are links to videos from the 12/23/22 Vail show) - thanks @LeafOnTheWind (did you think it was a worthwhile listen/read overall?):

I still haven't finished it. I'm only through Chapter 4. I will say I think it's worth it. Nathan really took time to reflect on how he had trained, things he learned, his mindset through the whole process. It's a good overall look into the world of an Olympic athlete. I would like to see him continue contributing to skating at least as a mentor to the next generations because I think they would really benefit from his insight in things he would have done differently. He said that it never occurred to him to think about his mental health in addition to physical training for Pyeongchang. That was a mistake he did not repeat for Beijing.

 

[Wyliefan]

I hope Christine Brennan reads it. When you read about his anxieties at Nationals, and how he was going around asking people "Should we really be doing this? Is this really a good idea?" it makes Brennan's screeching about how he should have singlehandedly stopped the competition all the more exasperating.

 

[Debbie S]

I just finished it. There is also a lot about his mental approach in Chapter 7. He definitely would be a great mentor for younger skaters. And yes, he is the poster child for Covid precautions.

 

[On My Own]

I hope Christine Brennan reads it.

Mostly, I hope she's fired.

 

[Sylvia]

Sweet photo by a skating dad at Great Park Ice yesterday : https://twitter.com/figuresk8ingdad/status/1608291875383029761

https://twitter.com/x/status/1608291875383029761

 

[AnnM]

I finished it two days ago and what has really stuck with me is how much gratitude and respect he has for all those who gave him any amount of assistance, which is why I think he's so great with his young fans. He realizes the impact he can have on them. Regardless of whatever career he ends up pursuing after Yale, I hope he also mentors young athletes. He'd be excellent.

 

[cholla]

My website received a (signed) copy last week. Starting the read this afternoon with spiced tea in my fave recliner by the fireplace. Cosy way to start the year

 

[Sylvia]

Re-posting these 3 posts from the U.S. Men's thread :

I read Nathan's memoir (One Jump at a Time) on the way to/from 4CCs. It's a good read. I would recommend it. It's written in a way to appeal to the general public, but there are plenty of interesting, specific details for figure skating fans, too. For example, we learn that, in addition to coaching, Raf also gets hands-on with mounting blades on figure skating boots (and saved Nathan's boots from breaking down in Beijing). There are other interesting tidbits, such as the fact that, unlike a lot of skaters, Nathan follows his rivals' scores and elements closely during competitions. Nathan also talks quite openly about his mom's considerable role in his career. It's definitely well worth a read.

I second the recommendation for Nathan's book. Even if you are not a fan of Nathan's skating in particular, I think it provides a lot of insight into the challenges of being a consistent top-level men's competitive skater. Some of Nathan's challenges are specific to him (especially his mother), but much of it applies to any of the men competing at the higher levels of the sport. Nathan writes about the pressures and anxiety he dealt with, which is probably more than most people realize. He writes a lot about the challenges of being consistent. He (and his mother) felt he needed to train a LOT of jumps and run-throughs of his programs in order to be in a position physically and mentally to deliver in competitions, especially the Olympics. However, training so much, especially so many quads, took a big toll both physically and mentally. For so much of his career he was dealing with injuries as a result of all this training, and he had periods of burnout and high anxiety.

He writes a lot about trying to find the right balance. In order to be in the right condition mentally and physically, he needed to pace himself, reduce the number of jumps he was doing, taper at times, and dial back on the intensity (including from his mother). He goes into a lot of detail about this, and that includes the fact that the expert he was working with to try to find the right training balance was in unchartered waters because he just didn't know exactly where the sweet spot was in terms of how much training a skater could and should do in the context of current quad-heavy figure skating. Nathan also talks about the mental side of things and how a sports psychologist worked with him in the lead up to the 2022 Olympics.

Bottom line: it is incredibly hard to be a consistent competitor at the top levels of men's figure skating even when you have access to the top coaches and other experts and have Nathan's talent.

The cover of Nathan's book translated in Japanese is just released - the cover looks quite different from English version, but nice.

https://twitter.com/ryoga4min/status/1629259730916102144

 

[Sylvia]

Phil Hersh wrote a book review in his blog (Feb. 10):

Chen's autobiography provides a rare revelatory look at the man who won Olympic skating gold a year ago — Globetrotting by Philip Hersh

The idea of covering figure skating is something of a contradiction in terms. Oxymoronic, if you will, like covering all individual sports, in which athletes compete infrequently, train all over the world, and the media rarely sees them in practice. A far cry from my experiences covering

www.globetrottingbyphiliphersh.com

A pause in the chronological telling of the story, at the start of the chapter that deals with overcoming mental hurdles, is the most fascinating passage in the book. He writes with forthrightness of his complicated and evolving relationship and occasional frictions with his single-minded mother, who “was such an integral part of my skating training.” Chen dedicated his gold medal to her.
“Training isn’t easy, and training with your mom certainly isn’t, and it took both of us a while to learn each of our limits.”