The Girls

The damage to these young women has been immeasurable...but they have reclaimed control of their lives from a predator who is destined to die in prison. The Girls is their story of courage and Larry Nassar is now nothing more than a footnote. --New York Journal of Books This may be the most important sports title of the year. --Library Journal (starred review) Like no one else writing today, Abigail Pesta penetrates deep into the anguish of people, particularly women, who are caught in seemingly hopeless situations, when nobody will listen to them. In The Girls, Pesta details the incredible untold stories of how dozens of teenage gymnasts, after decades of abuse by a trusted doctor, finally break through his small army of powerful protectors and send him to jail for at least one hundred years. --Paul Steiger, former managing editor of The Wall Street Journal and founding editor of ProPublica Deeply personal, powerful, and filled with stunning new insights into the Nassar scandal, this gripping narrative grabs you by the heart and leaves you cheering for these courageous women who felled a beast. -- Joanna Coles, executive producer of The Bold Type, author of Love Rules, and director, Snap Pesta has born witness to unfathomable pain, staggering complicity, and abuse hidden in plain sight. Here is a nightmare in two acts: an unremittingly cruel coach and a pedophilic osteopath who exploit the militant obedience demanded in an ultra-competitive environment to traumatize hundreds of young women and girls. With journalistic verve, Pesta chronicles the unstoppable force of the survivors' voices swelling into a battle cry. --Tina Brown, founder and CEO of Tina Brown Live Media/Women in the World Abigail Pesta's The Girls is a riveting, angering, un-put-down-able and ultimately triumphant story. With new information at every turn, this impeccably reported, eloquent narrative provides stunning insights into the saga of the most prolific sexual predator in sports history. An unforgettable book, which only a woman could write with the nuance, depth, and compassion it deserves. -- Sheila Weller, author of Girls Like Us and The News Sorority