Resilient

November 1, 2023
The road to recovery for any injured athlete can require a prolonged stretch of time filled with setbacks, misery, and self-doubt. Wells, a former gymnast and high-school track athlete, became a rising star in the popular sport of CrossFit (high-intensity workouts that can include weightlifting, gymnastics, and running), winning a Regional Crossfit title at 19. But she had to drop out of the 2021 CrossFit Games, when she attempted a 190-pound snatch and her elbow snapped and dislocated. Witnessed by thousands, it was a gruesome injury that would cut short most professional athletes' careers. Not to be deterred, Wells sought out a surgeon who performed the famous Tommy John (ulnar collateral ligament) reconstructive surgery and, with steely determination, set a specific goal: qualify for and finish the same competition in 2022. This quick-paced memoir chronicles her rehabilitation and remarkable comeback. Fitness enthusiasts as well as serious athletes will learn applicable lessons about working through adversity and conquering fear as they cheer on Wells' dogged determination and quest to have "a chance to write a better ending."

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January 22, 2024
Fitness influencer Wells’s inspiring debut memoir recounts the debilitating injury she suffered during the 2021 CrossFit Games and her subsequent recovery. Wells begins the narrative shortly after she was diagnosed with tendonitis of the elbows in 2018, four years into her participation in the annual CrossFit Games. Rest, physical therapy, and stem cell procedures provided short-term relief, but after dislocating her right elbow on the final night of the 2021 competition, Wells was told she required surgery and near-total abstinence from physical activity to recover. With the support of family and friends, she began to heal, cautiously resumed training, and registered for the 2022 games despite being “nowhere near Open ready.” From sections highlighting how the blow to her confidence was every bit as staggering as her physical pain, to in-depth details about competition events, Wells provides an intimate play-by-play that will appeal to exercise buffs without alienating those outside the CrossFit orbit. While her prose is more serviceable than noteworthy, she often opts for appealingly small-scale advice over juiced-up motivational platitudes (“Nine times out of ten, achievement is the result of consistency, not fireworks”). The results will satisfy fitness-minded readers.

December 1, 2024

When Wells dislocated her elbow under the weight of a 190-pound barbell during the 2021 CrossFit Games, the injury could have ended her career as a professional athlete. After a year of working to make her comeback, however, she finished fifth at the 2022 games. Her memoir tells the story of her journey back to the games. She had surgery to repair her ulnar collateral ligament and lots of physical therapy to rebuild her strength. She also worked to improve her focus and mindset and says that both factors played pivotal roles in her recovery. Setbacks and self-doubt challenged her, especially during the qualifying rounds, where a mere two seconds put her ahead and in a qualifying spot. She posits that this narrow margin between judging a performance as a success or failure is meaningless: all that counts is the effort. VERDICT For readers who liked Dottir by two-time CrossFit champion Katrin Davidsdottir with coauthor Rory McKernan. Fans of memoirs about women athletes who persevere in spite of obstacles will also enjoy.--Margaret Atwater-Singer

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