Coming Home

By: Brittney Griner, Michelle Burford - contributor

Narrated by: Andia Winslow, Brittney Griner

Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

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 listeners 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.

©2024 Brittney Griner (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A visceral, harrowing account of what it’s like to be trapped inside Russia’s infamous criminal justice system, with its merciless judges and vast labor camps.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Riveting . . . Coming Home delves unflinchingly into the dehumanizing indignities the Olympic athlete suffered during the 10 months she served out of a nine-year sentence.”—The Washington Post

“A detailed accounting of Griner’s harrowing journey through a Russian legal system known for its corruption . . . Read her book, a 300-plus page deep dive on an experience many of us wouldn’t have been able to recover from, and I suspect your empathy will grow−for her and all of humanity . . . The ripple effect in life is real, and if Griner’s honesty helps even a dozen readers see the world differently, that impact, her impact, will be felt for years. Griner's book will get people talking to each other, and that's when real change begins.”—Lindsay Schnell, USA Today

Her openness

This book is very informative and gives lots of insight to BG…..Love her and her story!!!

She Made It

I like many others prayed that BG would come home. I was so happy when she was finally released. I imagined the horrors she had to deal with while a prisoner in Russia, but the reality was even worse. The story was riveting. My heart hurt when reading about having her womanhood questioned. Hopefully, her story will provide an encouragement to other black women simply trying to make it in this country that never seems to love us as much as we love it.

WOW!

What an ordeal! I'm so sorry you experienced this tragedy. But I'm glad things are on track now! Keep it up and good luck in Paris!

We need to bring US hostages home!

Too full emotionally but I will say this book is an eye opener and very informative. My love and prayers for the couple. BG thank you for your courage in sharing this story you’ve helped me in 3rd quarter of my life to help even more for we are our brother’s keeper.

Outstanding Book

I loved this book and very glad I listened to it as well. I don’t listen to many books but this one was hands down worth the listen, brought it to life. One of my top three books in the past two years. Great book! Thank you Brittany for being brave enough to write it and still fighting for others detained.

Details!

Everything was described in such detail. I was able to feel and see what was described.

Heartfelt and Candid Recounting of a very Tough Experience.

I appreciated the intentional unfolding of details that don’t often amount to much in our daily lives. In BG’s life, that fateful day, they did. Having cheered her on and wished for her release, it felt like a relief to read her brave retelling. Thank you, BG for sharing the heartbreak and the warnings.

Amazing Story

I got sucked in right away. I hate to say it but its like watching a train wreck happening. What BG endured is unimaginable and she did a great job of recalling it all as well as the emotions tied to so many of the various situations. I recalled when this all went down and my thought then was, "why was she such an idiot to bring weed into Russia?" What she did was a mistake, (one I've done here in the US many times myself, so who am I to say?). I could really sympathize with her and could feel her true panic in some parts while feeling her physical pain in others. She does a great job of letting us in to the facts but also into her feelings. I'm glad to have had the details of this story that I didn't know much about other than she got busted, held in jail, lost her case and got traded to get back home. It was truly eye opening and well done. Definitely give it a read!

BG, thank you for being a voice for those wrongfully detained abroad and here at home.

I am in awe of the power of BG’s words, compassion, and strength. This book is more than just one woman’s ordeal in an unfair, inhumane, and torturous situation. I hope BG’s words will open the eyes of many who are unknowingly placing others in prison because of the color of their skin, their chosen love, their gender, and God knows what else. BG’s words also shine a light on the unfair treatment, imprisonment, isolation, and abuse many are suffering right here in the USA because they may not live the way we think they should. This is a must read for EVERYONE, especially the parents and families of those who are afraid of disclosing their true self because they too will suffer impending isolation from the family who are to love them unconditionally. Brittney, I can’t imagine how hard it was to place your thoughts in print. Thank you for doing one more hard thing for those who are wrongfully detained abroad and here at home.

What an experience from a treasured Olympian.

Thank you for sharing the full story of your life BG. We have been big fans of your basketball expertise and are now clear on what an authentic soul you are.