“Little Girls in Pretty Boxes”

Northern Californian Joan Ryan, the award-winning journalist, author, and a former colleague, wrote an excellent book with a provocative title “Little Girls in Pretty Boxes”/”The making and breaking of elite gymnasts and figure skaters” in 1995. A review called it “a scathing and profoundly important study.”

I was reminded of Joan’s book after watching the women’s figure skating competition and hearing some of the commentaries at the WINTER OLYMPICS 2022. I recommend Joan’s book, which I found on Amazon and other online book sellers.

 Joan earned a degree in journalism from the University of Florida in 1981 — the same class as a longtime friend who admired her then. Both of them worked at the student newspaper.

Author: jeffpelline

Jeff Pelline is a veteran editor and award-winning journalist - in print and online. He is publisher of Sierra FoodWineArt magazine and its website SierraCulture.com. Jeff covered business and technology for The San Francisco Chronicle for 12 years, and he was a founding editor and Editor of CNET News for eight years, among other positions. Jeff has a bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley and a master's from Northwestern University. His hobbies include sailing, swimming, and trout fishing in the Sierra. View all posts by jeffpelline