In the 1980s and 1990s, the greatest names in pairs figure skating were Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov, from Russia. For nearly a decade, they dominated their sport, winning gold medals at the 1988 and 1994 Olympic Games, and turning professional to great accolades. Gordeeva and Grinkov (or G and G, as they were playfully known) were the poster children for the "image" of the pairs skaters: the tiny, childlike female skater and the strong male partner a whole head taller than her. They were skaters, they were best friends, they were lovers. Their lives were a virtual fairy tale, until November 20, 1995. On that day, while practicing a routine, Sergei suddenly collapsed on the ice and died of an undiagnosed heart condition. He was 28 years old.
A widow at age 24 with a two year old daughter, Ekaterina was left with the pieces of her shattered life, wondering how to move on and learn to live again without the partner she had had since the age of 11. The result was this collaboration with E.M. Swift, My Sergei: A Love Story.Ekaterina tells both her story and Sergei's, intermingling stories of their childhoods, of growing up in the Soviet Union, learning to skate and their pairing together. The book truly is a "love story", living up to its subtitle -- Ekaterina brings the reader through their courtship, marriage, and foray into parenthood with their daughter, Daria. Their brief but illustrious figure skating career is described throughout; the book would be incomplete without it.
But Ekaterina's real purpose in this collaboration is the "celebration of a life" -- finding a way to move past the pain of Sergei's early, tragic death and find joy in the life left to her and her daughter. She expresses her fear and grief at the prospect of living the rest of her life without him, yet by the end, she has learned to accept her future.
As a figure skater, I read this book as a child, barely knowing who Gordeeva and Grinkov were. This book has the distinction of being the first volume to ever make me cry -- and I must confess that I cried again in reading it now, for the first time in probably ten years. It is a beautiful memoir, something that would touch even someone who has never laced up a pair of skates.
Rating: **** and 1/2
'My Sergei' was truly a good book to read. It had me laughing, crying and understanding a totally different life than my own. I don't see why teenagers aren't required to read it rather than 'Melinda's Adventures' or other books requirered reading now. I know we all wish Katia good luck in her future endeavors and to let her know we shall always be watching her... on or off the ice!
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