One Jump at a Time

My Story

By: Nathan Chen

Narrated by: Nathan Chen, Eunice Wong

Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

In this exhilarating memoir, three-time World Champion and Olympic gold-medalist Nathan Chen tells the story of his remarkable journey to success, reflecting on his life as a Chinese American figure skater and the joys and challenges he has experienced—including the tremendous sacrifices he and his family made, and the physical and emotional pain he endured.

When three-year-old Nathan Chen tried on his first pair of figure skates, magic happened. But the odds of this young boy—one of five children born to Chinese immigrants—competing and making it into the top echelons of figure skating were daunting. Chen’s family didn’t have the resources or access to pay for expensive coaches, rink time, and equipment. But Nathan’s mother, Hetty Wang, refused to fail her child. Recognizing his tremendous talent and passion, she stepped up as his coach, making enormous sacrifices to give Nathan the opportunity to compete in this exclusive world.

That dedication eventually paid off at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, where Chen—reverently known as the “Quad King”—won gold, becoming the first Asian-American man to stand at the highest podium in figure skating. In this moving and inspiring memoir Chen opens up for the first time, chronicling everything it took to pursue his dreams. Bolstered by his unwavering passion and his family’s unconditional support, Chen reveals the most difficult times he endured, and how he overcame each obstacle–from his disappointment at the 2018 Olympic Games, to competing during a global pandemic, to the extreme physical and mental toll the sport demands.

Pulling back the curtain on the figure skating world and the Olympics, Chen reveals what it was really like at the Beijing Games and competing on the US team in the same city his parents had left—and his grandmother still lived. Poignant and unfiltered, told in his own words, One Jump at a Time is the story of one extraordinary young man—and a testament to the love of a family and the power of persistence, grit, and passion.

©2022 Nathan Chen (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

His voice is so good.

This book is interesting and fun. And his voice is very nice. I love Nathan!

An inspiring story

In One Jump At A Time, Nathan Chen presents a compelling tale of how he overcame numerous obstacles in his two-decade-long skating career to rise from an inspired young skater from an Olympic town to the top of the podium in Beijing. The hurdles he had to face along the way included financial constraints, technical struggles, physical injuries, juggling academics, and a global pandemic, but none as great and poignant as the one that came from himself. Driven by an insatiable desire for excellence, pressured to meet the media's expectations, and indebted by the sacrifices his family made for him, Nathan crumbled under stress and had the worst skate of his career at the 2018 Olympics. While failure at such a spectacular scale might've destroyed many others, it served as an opportunity for him to reflect and rebuild in the next four years. The book did an excellent job in laying out the different elements that precipitated the 2018 downfall, and the ways Nathan addressed them one by one to pave his way to gold in 2022. The way he dealt with the relationship with his mom, who's been an integral part of both his skating career and his growth as a person, is especially moving. I believe the conflict between her unconditional dedication to his progress and her training philosophy that he had outgrown is one familiar to not only athletes, but also many second-generation immigrants, whose living conditions were improved by the sacrifices their first generation immigrant parents made, but also require them to adopt different values than their parents'. From the memoir it's clear Nathan's victory in Beijing is not only the result of his athletic dominance, but also the outcome of his growth from an ultra-motivated skater to a well-rounded person.

Aside from the poignant narrative of personal growth, this biography is also dotted with adorable anecdotes from Nathan's childhood and behind-the-scene trivia that might please skating fans. Everything and every person involved are presented with dignity, so if you are looking for drama and gossips this book might not be the best fit for you. Another thing I wish could be "improved" about the book is to make Nathan's achievements more explicit. While it chronicles most of his victories, it does not reveal the extent of them, the margins with which he won so many competitions , the records he set and broke, and the sheer dominance he had on ice. I advise readers less familiar with Nathan's skating career to consult wikipedia to get the full scale of his accomplishment. This being said, I found the underplaying of his achievements to be in line with Nathan's humble nature, so in a way it also helps us to know him as a person.

As to the audible production of the book, I always love it when they have the author read the book themselves, and it's true in this case as well. The book is colloquially written so it makes for an easy listen. Nathan's narration really brings the story to life and helps you see the events unfold through his eyes. I'll say though, that his 1x speed is about others' 1.25x speed. It is also the speed I prefer, so it works for me.

Overall I enjoyed listening to this book, and hope others will also enjoy the story of this inspiring Olympic Champion.

This book makes me love him even more

He just recorded the unimaginable dilemmas and great achievements calmly but that emoted me strongly, the whole memoir is not a genius narrative, he is grateful to everyone around him who has offered help, this is what a lot of accomplished people don't see. he is humble and sincere, a true role model.

Inspirational

I loved that Nathan narrated his own book. The story is a great motivational story. I am inspired to be a better mom to my 2nd generational Asian American kids, the way Nathan’s mom dedicated her life to her children’s successes.

A touching and unflinching inside look

I was very moved by this memoir. What stood out to me the most what Nathan’s unwavering commitment to being honest about his struggles with injury, mental health and his own shortcomings. There were a lot of factors outside of Nathan’s control regarding the 2018 Olympics, but he takes responsibility for the things he could have done differently. Even after those Olympics, Nathan made some missteps in his career and isn’t afraid to admit that with a mature self-awareness. Nathan discusses the ways he course-corrects to achieve his goals.

Nathan’s gratitude for his family, coaches, trainers and choreographers shines throughout the book. So many people helped Nathan achieve his Olympic dream and never once does he forget that.

Loved every minute

The way Nathan tells his story, it feels like you are there right beside him. I knew he had diversity but not like this. What his parents gave up was remarkable. You can feel the dedication and love from his coach Raf and from the others who gave of their time and love. Wonderful book!

Very inspiring

My daughter and I have observed Nathan Chen from when he was a little boy skating at the same skating rink as my daughter up to the latest Olympics. I always wondered what he had to go through to get to where he was especially at the 2018 Olympics, and also during the Covid Olympics in 2022. This book explained exactly what he had to go through to get where he was and his emotions. This book helped me appreciate his hard work and perseverance. Thanks Nathan for being such a strong example to the world!

A great read

Great read, Nathan walked me through the long and hard journey to that gold medal. It's a lot harder than I imagined, and sooooo happy he finally made it. Looking forward to Nathan's next chapter in life and sports.

Fabulous!

So well written and read by Nathan. The book answered many questions about figure skating and the BTS of Chen’s competitive journey to the Olympics.

Well Done

As a former skater who’s followed his career since he was young, it was a treat to see all that went into his incredible win in Beijing. I cried for 24 hrs after that bc many of our favorites never won the Olympics. It’s never guaranteed.