Olympic all-around champion Simone Biles chose an autobiography because she wanted her fans to read her story in her own words.
The gymnast detailed her difficult upbringing in “Courage to Soar,” which comes out Tuesday.
In an excerpt published by Parade magazine Friday, Biles remembered the time at age 3 when she was first told that she, her older brother, Tevin, older sister, Ashley, and younger sister, Adria, were being placed in foster care.
“Most people might think that at age three I was too young to know what it meant to be placed into foster care, but the truth is I understood everything,” Biles wrote, according to the magazine.
Biles’ grandfather Ron and wife Nellie were not able to officially adopt Simone and Adria until Simone was 6 years old.
Also in the book, Biles recalled her gymnastics failure.
In the foreword, 1984 Olympic all-around champion Mary Lou Retton describes the first time she met Biles, handing her a gold medal at the 2009 Mary Lou Retton Invitational.
Biles has said she is taking one year off from gymnastics and detailed her future more here.
