Her loss of the major gymnastics prize everyone expected her to win in Beijing, the all-around Olympic gold medal, was the loss of a dream shed worked for since childhood. Yet Shawn is no stranger to hard work and adversity. Already a popular role model to all ages, in 2009 she captured the national spotlight again when she won the widely popular Dancing with the Stars. A solid offering from a woman wiser than her years suggest she might be.Twenty-year-old American gymnast Shawn Johnson is a four-time Olympic gold and silver medalist a national- and world-champion athlete. Her book celebrates both family love and faith in God as wellsprings of strength.

Johnson emerges as a powerhouse champion with a winning attitude, always making the best of circumstances, even an injury that could have ended her career. Johnson's 'balanced' beginnings seem almost too idyllic at the start of the book, but as her struggle toward Olympic glory plays out, we come to appreciate the sturdy values of parents who knew instinctively to honor her high energy and uniqueness. Among the details: slips on the balance beam in front of Olympic judges, spats with parents, learning to wear heels, and realizing that what looks good on TV-makeup and hair extensions-can look strange in person. Every bit as interesting are her accounts of coping with the aftermath of fame, both as an Olympic champion and as a reality-TV star on Dancing with the Stars. Olympic gold-medalist gymnast Johnson has written an endearing memoir of her rise to winning three silver medals and one gold at age 16. Could she find the right kind of success in life-the kind that doesn't involve medals or trophies, but peace, love, and lasting joy? This is the amazing true journey of how the young woman who won an Olympic gold medal on the balance beam became even more balanced. And she wasn't sure she was satisfied with where she was with her faith and God. And later, she suffered a potentially career-ending injury in a skiing accident that forced her life to a halt and made her rethink what was really important. Her loss of the major gymnastics prize everyone expected her to win in Beijing, the all-around Olympic gold medal, was the loss of a dream she'd worked for since childhood. Twenty-year-old American gymnast Shawn Johnson is a four-time Olympic gold and silver medalist a national- and world-champion athlete.

Shawn johnson book winning balance