The Girls: An All-American Town, a Predatory Doctor, and the Untold Story of the Gymnasts Who Brought Him Down

Description

Larry Nassar has been called one of the worst sexual predators in history. For years, the families in Lansing, Michigan admired and trusted him. He was a longtime doctor at Michigan State University, while also serving as the physician for the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team. Parents left their daughters in his care, grateful for the attention of this renowned doctor. He became a mentor and confidante to aspiring young gymnasts with big dreams. In the wake of abuse revelations, athletes are asking why they weren't protected. Victims want to know why they weren't believed. Parents are questioning why authorities didn't stop him when they had the chance. How did this happen? And how can we prevent it from occurring again? Drawing on exclusive interviews, this book unveils the behind-the-scenes story on the scandal that riveted and devastated the world of elite sports--and the small community where it all began. This is the narrative of how these women found their voice and came together, refusing to let the abuse of their past define their future. Their experience carries an important message for readers amid the ever-growing #MeToo movement: There is power in your voice.

Abigail Pesta is an award-winning journalist and author who has lived and worked around the world, from London to Hong Kong. She is the coauthor of How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child, which was named among the best books of 2017 by the New York Public Library, the Chicago Public Library, and many others. Her investigative and feature reporting has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, NBC News, Cosmopolitan, New York Magazine, Marie Claire, The Atlantic, Newsweek, and many others. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

"The Girls takes a headline-grabbing case and makes it human, which is the true crime genre at its best."--Paste "Abigail Pesta's The Girls is a riveting, angering, un-put-down-able and ultimately triumphant story. With new information at every turn, this impeccably reported, eloquent narrative provides stunning insights into the saga of the most prolific sexual predator in sports history. An unforgettable book, which only a woman could write with the nuance, depth, and compassion it deserves."--p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center; font: 14.0px Calibri}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}Sheila Weller, author of Girls Like Us and The News Sorority "Abigail Pesta's new book lends an essential platform to the voices of the brave women who brought down predator Larry Nassar. We must continue to listen to these women and their stories. Now, we can do just that, thanks to Ms. Pesta's excellent reporting."--Gloria Steinem "Deeply personal, powerful, and filled with stunning new insights into the Nassar scandal, this gripping narrative grabs you by the heart and leaves you cheering for these courageous women who felled a beast."--p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}Joanna Coles, executive producer of The Bold Type, author of Love Rules, and director of Snap "In interviews with 25 survivors -- including the likely first victim and the last -- journalist Abigail Pesta documents how [Larry Nassar] honed his manipulation skills to become the most prolific predator in sports history."--Marie Claire "In the #MeToo era, The Girls is a powerful addition to the nationwide conversations and reckonings happening around sexual abuse, harassment, and violence."--Ms. Magazine "Journalist Abigail Pesta reveals a shocking and ultimately inspiring chronicle of what Nassar's survivors endured, and how a decades-long fight to be heard was finally won."--Salon "Like no one else writing today, Abigail Pesta penetrates deep into the anguish of people, particularly women, who are caught in seemingly hopeless situations, when nobody will listen to them. In The Girls, Pesta details the incredible untold stories of how dozens of teenage gymnasts, after decades of abuse by a trusted doctor, finally break through his small army of powerful protectors and send him to jail for at least one hundred years."--Paul Steiger, former managing editor of The Wall Street Journal and founding editor of ProPublica "Pesta has born witness to unfathomable pain, staggering complicity, and abuse hidden in plain sight. Here is a nightmare in two acts: an unremittingly cruel coach and a pedophilic osteopath who exploit the militant obedience demanded in an ultra-competitive environment to traumatize hundreds of young women and girls. With journalistic verve, Pesta chronicles the unstoppable force of the survivors' voices swelling into a battle cry."--Tina Brown, founder and CEO of Tina Brown Live Media/Women in the World "Pesta's compassionate in-depth reporting is startling in its entirety and candor and should be read by coaches, counselors, therapists, law enforcement officers, sports writers, parents of young athletes and athletes, university officials and especially university presidents.... Her writing is straightforward and compelling without straying into sensationalism."--Lansing City Pulse "Pesta's empathy for these girls and women is palpable, and powerful. ... The book has the effect of a chorus of righteous anger."--Los Angeles Times "The damage to these young women has been immeasurable ... but they have reclaimed control of their lives from a predator who is destined to die in prison. The Girls is their story of courage."--New York Journal of Books "This book is one that every single person who works in sport should read."--Female Coaching Network "This is a courageous, courageous book. ... The Girls is probably the most thorough account of this case."--Dr. Phil "This may be the most important sports title of the year."--Library Journal (starred review) "Through interviews that reveal the experiences of many victims -- from the first known survivor to the last -- Pesta tells a story of betrayal and, ultimately, resilience among the abused in rebuilding their lives."--Notre Dame Magazine