I got more out of this book than I expected to. I've read a few gymnast memoirs, and they're not usually especially weighty or detailed. Fierce came out the year after Raisman's triumph at her second Olympics--winning the silver medal in the all-around (which as good as anyone other than Simone Biles could hope for) along with a team gold and an event silver (Biles again earning the gold). I don't know if the books quality is due to Raisman being in her twenties when her book was written, that she had a better ghost writer than others, or because she herself is more writerly than others, despite her only post-secondary education being a year at a business college.

Regardless, she really takes you through her career, discreetly leaving out dating details and keeping the details at her sexual abuse by Larry Nassar to herself. Gymnasts, especially will love it, especially Raisman's candor at not succeeding at everything right away, and her torment with often scoring 4th in competition, just off the winners' podium. You can see the wisdom and leadership skills that made her captain of both her Olympic teams.