August 5, 2024

A call for sources, a Mind Game event, and more

Please reach out to me if you have a connection to Renée Richards! Also, MIND GAME takes North Carolina.

Happy Paris Olympics! I sincerely hope everyone tuned in this morning to both the gymnastics and kayak-cross sessions. Relatedly, MIND GAME was featured in my friend Michael Waters’s Atlantic roundup of books to read that will change how you watch the Games. All great recommendations. Thanks, Michael!

So as you know from my last update, my next book will be FINDING RENÉE, a biography of tennis legend Renée Richards. Today I put out this call for people to get in touch with me to talk about her. Please reach out if you have a connection or pass this on to someone who might:

I’ve done a lot of great interviews so far, including with some names you’ll definitely recognize, and now I’m on the hunt for more insights into her life and legacy.

MIND GAME and I take North Carolina

My research for FINDING RÉNEE will take me to North Carolina in a few weeks, thanks to a travel grant I was awarded by Duke University’s Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. If you’re in or near the Triangle, please come see me at Chapel Hill’s Flyleaf Books on Tuesday, Aug 27. I’ll be in conversation with Power Plays founder Lindsay Gibbs about MIND GAME. I can’t wait!

My New York Times debut

Heading into the Olympics, I wrote an essay (gift link) for the Times about gymnastics GOAT Simone Biles: I argued that regardless of how she performed in the individual and team competitions, she’d already won due to the massive impact she’s had in the past few years on the ongoing dialogue around mental health in sports. That’s not to diminish her incredible performances, though. Wow.

That’s enough updating for now, I think. Thanks for reading and supporting!