New Releases by Brittney Griner

Het persoonlijke verslag van de Amerikaanse basketballer Brittney Griney als politiek gevangene in een Russische gevangenis. #WeAreBG-movement. In Thuiskomen doet de Amerikaanse basketballer Brittney Griner verslag van haar onvoorstelbare tijd als politiek gevangene in een Russische gevangenis. Op 17 februari 2022 arriveert Brittney Griner in Moskou, waar ze buiten het Amerikaanse seizoen speelt voor een basketbalteam in de hoogste competitie. De douane vindt echter één gram cannabisolie in haar koffer en de sterspeler wordt gearresteerd. Dat de olie haar door een arts is voorgeschreven maakt in Rusland geen enkel verschil. Enkele dagen later vallen de Russen Oekraïne binnen en ze wordt een pion in een geopolitiek spel. Griner neemt de lezer mee in een nachtmerrie die uiteindelijk tien maanden zal duren. Ze vertelt beklemmend en met levendige details over haar eenzaamheid tijdens haar proces, over de angsten die ze uitstond in een Russische strafkolonie en over de gevangenenruil met de Russische wapenhandelaar Viktor Bout. Tegelijkertijd gaat Thuiskomen ook over Griners sportcarrière, haar familie, haar geloof en de uitdagingen waar ze als Zwarte queer vrouw in de verdeelde Verenigde Staten dagelijks voor komt te staan. Thuiskomen is een schrijnend verslag van een lange reis om rechtvaardigheid en vrijheid te bereiken, én een ode aan de liefde.

«Soltanto chi ha pregato, pianto e dormito in una prigione russa può comprendere veramente le umiliazioni quotidiane e il profondo isolamento che gravano sul tuo spirito.» Cestista professionista statunitense, Brittney Griner è messa agli arresti all’aeroporto di Mosca una settimana prima dell’invasione russa dell’Ucraina, nel febbraio 2022. Nel suo bagaglio erano state trovate due cartucce per un vaporizzatore con olio di hashish, prescritto per trattare dolori cronici. Condannata a nove anni di detenzione per traffico di droga, ha poi passato dieci mesi in varie prigioni russe prima della liberazione, l’8 dicembre, in uno scambio di prigionieri. Le terribili condizioni di prigionia, le assenze di igiene, di comunicazioni e dei minimi diritti che dovrebbero essere garantiti a un detenuto o a una detenuta, unite alle situazioni umilianti e agli abusi a cui è stata sottoposta, le hanno provocato grande sofferenza fisica e psicologica: «La mia vita è diventata un tempo sfocato tra spazzare e spolverare, pulire e pregare, sperando di poter in qualche modo tornare a casa». Con un misto di angoscia e rabbia crescente il lettore si immedesima nella prostrazione di Brittney: rinchiusa in una cella con un letto troppo piccolo e un buco nel pavimento al posto del water, obbligata a stare nuda di fronte ai medici, fotografata e umiliata come fosse un fenomeno da baraccone, portata in tribunale in manette legata a una guardia con una catena. Con una passione acuita dalla disperazione, Brittney riprende, al rientro, l’attività sportiva, fino alla sua terza medaglia d’oro alle Olimpiadi di Parigi con il Team USA. Tornare a casa è una storia di sopravvivenza ma anche un’ode all’amore, ai legami affettivi e familiari che le hanno consentito di salvarsi e ritrovare se stessa.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A TIME MUST-READ BOOK OF THE YEAR • From the nine-time women’s basketball icon and two-time Olympic gold medalist—a raw, revelatory account of her unfathomable detainment in Russia and her journey home. “Compelling . . . An intimate, honest recollection of Griner’s time held captive in Russia. Coming Home reads as a deeply personal, publicly powerful documentation of what happened—what is still happening—to her body and mind.” —Slate On February 17, 2022, Brittney Griner arrived in Moscow ready to spend the WNBA offseason playing for the Russian women’s basketball team where she had been the centerpiece of previous championship seasons. Instead, a security checkpoint became her gateway to hell when she was arrested for mistakenly carrying under one gram of medically prescribed hash oil. Brittney’s world was violently upended in a crisis she has never spoken in detail about publicly—until now. In Coming Home, Brittney finally shares the harrowing details of her sudden arrest days before Russia invaded Ukraine; her bewilderment and isolation while navigating a foreign legal system amid her trial and sentencing; her emotional and physical anguish as the first American woman ever to endure a Russian penal colony while the #WeAreBG movement rallied for her release; the chilling prisoner swap with Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout; and her remarkable rise from hostage to global spokesperson on behalf of America’s forgotten. In haunting and vivid detail, Brittney takes readers inside the horrors of a geopolitical nightmare spanning ten months. And yet Coming Home is more than Brittney’s journey from captivity to freedom. In an account as gripping as it is poignant, she shares how her deep love for Cherelle, her college sweetheart and wife of six years, anchored her during their greatest storm; how her family’s support pulled her back from the brink; and how hundreds of letters from friends and neighbors lent her resolve to keep fighting. Coming Home is both a story of survival and a testament to love—the bonds that brought Brittney home to her family, and at last, to herself.

The WMBA All-Star shares the inspiring story of her singular life as an athlete and activist in this “searing and ultimately liberating memoir” (New York Times Book Review). Brittney Griner is a once-in-a-generation basketball player. A two-time Olympic gold medalist and a six-time WNBA All-Star, she has been hailed by Sports Illustrated as “the sport’s most transformative figure.” But she is equally famous for speaking out on a range of social issues, as well as for surviving a wrongful detention in Russia that became a geopolitical flashpoint. Now Griner shares her coming-of-age story, revealing how she found her strength to overcome bullies and embrace her authentic self. At 6’8”, with an 88-inch wingspan and a size 17 shoe (men’s), the Phoenix Mercury star has heard every vicious insult in the book, enduring years of taunting that began in middle school and continues to this day. Through the highs and lows, Griner has learned to remain true to herself, rising above the haters trying to take her down. In her heartfelt memoir, she reflects on painful episodes in her life and describes how she came to celebrate what makes her unique—inspiring lessons she now shares. Filled with all the humor and personality Griner has become known for, In My Skin is more than a glimpse into one of the most original personalities in sports; it’s also a powerful call to readers to be true to themselves, to love who they are on the inside and out. With eight pages of photos.