9 lives by 39 is a memoir about how someone can go through many different phases or “lives” in their life. Sanders is an Olympic rhythmic gymnast who grew up in Canada and went on to compete in the United States because of her dual citizenship. She lost her father, also a gymnast, passed away when she was quite young which left her mother a single mom with multiple kids who were all athletes, but she always did whatever she could to make sure her kids could continue to follow their dreams. When regular gymnastics was not the right fit for her anymore, she switched to rhythmic and was really successful. Unfortunately, there is less funding available for Canadian gymnasts, so when she was offered the opportunity to compete (with funding) for the US, this led to another stage in her life. After the Olympics, she went on to perform as an acrobat with Cirque du Soleil, another unique stage. Throughout her life she persevered through difficult situations, pushed her body past all limits and fought to maintain relationships even while constantly being on the road. This story reminds readers that you can follow your dreams no matter what your situation is, but it also is cautionary in that sometimes you need to consider what is worth the risk when it comes to your health, your family and your life. Overall, it was a super good book and I loved that I could read about gymnastics, and rhythmic gymnastics and from both a Canadian and American perspective. There was even a little commentary on the Larry Nassar case in USA gymnastics which I thought was pretty interesting. It is awful how many people he abused in his career!

Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this great book!