In eighth grade, Amy was voted “Most likely to appear on Jeopardy!” by her classmates. Decades later, she finally got her chance. Not only did she walk away with $1.3 million while captivating the world with her impressive forty-game winning streak, but she made history and won an even greater prize—being herself on national television and blazing a trail for openly queer and transgender people around the world. Now, she shares her journey that led to becoming an unlikely icon and hero to millions.

I loved Amy’s run on Jeopardy, and I was excited when I saw she had written a memoir. She is obviously insanely smart, and that definitely came across in her storytelling ability. I listened to this on audio, and she read it, which was a fun and special treat. I really loved getting to know more about her history and background, and appreciate how candid she was with sharing things that have happened throughout her life and in her transition. One thing, however, that really bothered me was how flippant she was about drug use. She spent a lot of time talking about how drug use has helped her cope through different difficulties throughout her life, but without at all addressing or acknowledging the dangers of using drugs. I understand that that is her personal experience, but I think it is very dangerous to talk about drug use to any audience without discussing any of its repercussions. This detracted from how much I otherwise enjoyed the book. At times, the chapters felt disjointed and felt more like an unconnected series of essays. For these reasons, I probably wouldn’t recommend this unless are very interested in learning more about Amy.