In 2019, after a second World Cup win with the U.S. Women's soccer team, Megan Rapinoe spoke to her fans and asked them to work to make their world better. "We have to love more, hate less, listen more, talk less," she said. "This is everybody's responsibility." Rapinoe expands on this message in her thoughtful memoir, One Life, which takes its name loosely from the famous Mary Oliver quotation that also serves as the book's epigraph: "Tell me, what is it you plan to do/ with your one wild and precious life?"

One Life is Rapinoe's answer to that question: soccer and social justice. The memoir outlines her somewhat meteoric rise from youth leagues to national teams, packed with play-by-plays of some of her biggest and most career-shaping games as a player (including three World Cups and two trips to the Olympics). Rapinoe also reviews her work as an activist; as one of the first openly gay players in soccer history, she realized how much her sense of justice was tied to her success in her sport. "I couldn't imagine being an effective player if I wasn't completely honest. I play my best when I'm free." Since then, she has been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, fought against the unequal pay of women soccer players based on their gender, and kneeled during the National Anthem in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick and the Black Lives Matter movement. "Arms out wide, claim your space," she tells her fans and readers--and that's exactly what she does here, with an inspiring memoir that reveals a strong, quick-witted writer whose words are as quirky as her on-field persona and as thoughtful as her activism. --Kerry McHugh, blogger at Entomology of a Bookworm

Discover: The inspiring memoir of famous U.S. soccer player Megan Rapinoe focuses on her two greatest passions: soccer and social justice.

I am not the audience for this book as I'm not really that impressed by or interested in sportsing, much less women's soccer, haha. But I tend to like to listen to accounts from people who are the best, and Megan Rapinoe will not hesitate to tell you she is! I probably appreciated the social justice pieces of this the most - the cost of being out at the Olympics, the cost of a kneel, etc.

I loved this look at the person behind the superstar persona. Megan writes about her childhood, her struggles, and everything in between. Her writing about growing up obsessed with sports resonated so much with me as did the sense of reaching middle school and feeling like everyone else got the memo and you didn't.

I especially appreciated the ways she writes about how she went from being a fairly oblivious young adult to becoming an advocate for LGBTQ rights and for racial justice. She is clear about what it cost her to kneel during the anthem. She isn't afraid to write about the place where she screwed up.

I loved this book.

Rapinoe’s sense of social justice has been there since she was a child and she and her twin sister began playing on a boys’ soccer team at age six. And as they outpaced the boys in skill they quickly learned that cheating, unfairness and bullying were things that would rile both the girls up. It’s a candid memoir about an outspoken female athlete and social activist.

This memoir gripped me from the first page. I am what would be considered a casual soccer fan at best, and yet, I couldn’t stop reading. This book feels like a conversation with Rapinoe. The descriptions of soccer matches are fast-paced and exciting. I’d read articles about Rapinoe in the past, including the one about her brother Brian and the one Sue Bird wrote after the president tweeted about her, and it was fascinating to get the story behind the story. Megan Rapinoe writes with such passion about gay rights, systemic racism, and white privilege in a way that’s accessible to folks no matter where they are on their journey of understanding. This book was wonderful from beginning to end.

A timely and thoughtful perspective on racial injustice, equity, and activism. Rapinoe is unapologetically political and fiercely invested in creating conversations that inspire actionable change.