Edmond Native, Olympic Champion Shannon Miller Talks About New Memoir

In her new memoir, Edmond native and Olympic champion Shannon Miller brings readers back to her days as a competitive, elite gymnast.

Tuesday, April 21st 2015, 8:34 am

By: News 9


In her new memoir, Edmond native and Olympic champion Shannon Miller brings readers back to her days as a competitive, elite gymnast.

She is the most decorated American gymnast winning seven Olympic medals, two World Titles and dozens of other accolades. She was also the leader of the Magnificent Seven: the first U.S. Women's gymnastics team to win gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

"We are in the midst of planning our reunion because next year is the 20th anniversary of the Magnificent Seven win, which makes me feel old, but that's OK," she laughed.

While the book takes readers along her Olympic journey, it also highlights her life after gymnastics: as a wife, mother of two, business woman, attorney and healthy lifestyle advocate.

Back in 2010, Miller added patient to that list when doctors diagnosed her with a rare form of ovarian cancer. She said the mental toughness she learned in the gym is what she tapped into to pull her through.

"When I found out I had to do chemotherapy, I had to push out all those negative thoughts. I reverted back to my days in the gym and said 'I'm going to fight. Forget all this. I'm going to fight and I'm going to do everything I can,'" Miller said.

Miller said it is the determination of this Olympic champion, wife, mother and now cancer survivor she hopes readers will hold on to.

"I hope that if they are facing any type of challenge, they can grab some little nugget and hold on tight and know they're not alone. They can do it," Miller said.

"It's Not About Perfect" hits bookstore shelves on Tuesday.

By the way, this wasn't the first time Rachel and Shannon have met. On News 9 This Morning on Tuesday, we showed a photo of them back in 2004 at the Athens Olympic games and a photo of them just last week.

Rachel said at the time they both felt intimated and out of their league. It was their first time to work for a national television network.

Shannon has been cancer free nearly four years now. She lives in Florida and travels to speaking engagements and book signings. Last Friday, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Edmond Public Schools Foundation.

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