Ep57 Gymnast Rachel Haines Forgiving

Gymnast Rachel Haines was a two-time member of the US Women’s Gymnastics team, two-time National Champion, and Division 1 college gymnast at University of Minnesota where she studied child psychology and earned a master’s degree in family social science. She’s just come out with her memoir, Abused, about her time as a gymnast and as Survivor 195 in the Larry Nassar case. She writes in detail about breaking her back in 3 places and everything she did to stay in the sport after that. Mostly Rachel uses the lens of her psychology training to dissect her time in the sport. She focuses on the culture of gymnastics, being a driven teenager, her own process of healing, forgiving, moving on, and creating a great life after sport. Rachel now coaches young gymnasts and implements her own ideas about improving the sport. We talk about balancing being a strong competitor, safety, and the process of improving and becoming a good person.