Relentless Spirit

The Unconventional Raising of a Champion

By: Missy Franklin, D.A. Franklin, Dick Franklin, Daniel Paisner

Narrated by: D.A. Franklin, Dick Franklin

Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

What does it take to become a champion? Gold medalist Missy Franklin, along with her parents, D.A. and Dick, tell the inspirational and heartwarming story of how Missy became both a legendary athlete and a happy and confident woman, something they accomplished by doing things their own way and making the right choices for their family.

The word relentless has many meanings for swimmer Missy Franklin. In the pool, it reminds her to remain steady and persistent, unyielding in intensity and strength. In life, it tells her to reach down for her very best, even when it feels like there's nothing left. The motto "don't quit" doesn't do it for Missy, but relentless gets her where she needs to be. And when Missy faces a challenge or a setback, her relentless spirit is what empowers her to learn, adapt, and move forward into the future.

In Relentless Spirit, Missy and her parents, D.A. and Dick Franklin, share the story of how Missy became the athlete she is today, a six-time Olympic medalist, five of them gold. Since her Olympic debut in London's 2012 games - when Missy was just 17 - people who have met the Franklins or seen them on TV have wondered what it was like to raise such a champion. What was the training like? How did Missy handle school? How did the family find the right facilities, coaches, and support network?

The story that Missy, and her parents, share inside is both inspiring and heartwarming, explaining how she became both a legendary athlete and a happy and confident woman, something they accomplished by doing things their own way and making the right choices for their family, which includes Missy's faith journey, something she writes about with inspirational candor.

Including the highs, the tough moments, and everything in-between, Relentless Spirit tells the story of a woman - and a family - full of love, heart, faith, and resilience.

©2016 Missy Franklin and D.A. Franklin (P)2016 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"A consistently sunny, family-oriented story of persistence and achievement." (Kirkus Reviews)

"Conversational and sincere." (Bustle)

Physically, emotionally and spiritually complete!!!

I loved this book. It was written from the heart about three people who are living life passionately!!!

MIssy is a sweetheart

Would you consider the audio edition of Relentless Spirit to be better than the print version?

I never read the print version, so I can't compare them.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Relentless Spirit?

What is really great about this book is that it shows the closeness of relationships that Missy Franklin has with her parents. She loves them so muc and is supported so well by them that she had them write their takes on things throughout the book. You get their perspectives, and it is really sweet and encouraging.

Which scene was your favorite?

I loved learning how her parents met and the story of how she came to be, which I had no idea about until listening to this book!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The Thankful Child Olympian

Any additional comments?

Just to let you guys know, Missy does talk about her faith throughout this book, but she is never preachy at all and is really respectful of those who believe differently than herself. She just tells her story and how she came to become a Chistian, but she doesn't go into theology or anything like that. I mean, it seems even her parents are not Christians, so that is why she does as she does, because they all have deep love and respect for one another despite any differences. THIS is how a story should be written!

This book is awesome!!

This book is one of my favorites. It is so inspirational. I am a swimmer but I defiantly think non swimmers can relate to this book. This book inspires me to push harder and believe every day. Thank you Missy Franklin!!

Wow

Absolutely love this book and the presentation. Missy and her family are so inspiring. Missy we love you and will always support you!!

An Open and Honest Memoir

I have personally followed Missy's career since her break-out moment in 2011 World Championships in Shanghai. I've also watched the documentary "Touch the Wall" which documents her rise into the swimming elite circuit.
What makes this book so extraordinary though is the honesty. Not only the honesty that Missy writes regarding her success, but her parents' honesty on how they dealt with raising a superstar. What we all love about Missy Franklin is her sweet, honest and heart of gold personality. What we didn't realize is that her personality was not all attributed to her parents. Yes, they played a vital role in her development, but it is truly Missy herself who rises above the pack, with the help of her religion and spirituality challenging herself to face and fight her demons. This book is well written and narrated. I knocked off one star in the performance for two reasons, One is that we do not know who performed the narration of Missy's voicing, This narrator is outstanding! It could be brilliant for not mentioning who she is because I actually can believe it is Missy herself, if I didn't know better. D.A.'s performance was good, but at times it was as if her reflections were mundane. Dick Franklin's narration was surprisingly professional. I could actually listen to another audio book narrated by him.
Overall, a great book! If you are a fan of Missy or even a fan of swimming; heck if you are a fan of loving parenting you will enjoy this book. I would listen to it again.

Perfect for the parents of athletes

I love how this story is told my Missy and her mom and her dad. It was good to hear everyone's perspective and they sounded like the parents of the kids on my daughter's team. We are facing challenges as all athletes do, and it was good to hear the reassurance of a family whose struggles are similar though on a bigger scale.

Loved this

This book is absolutely fantastic and incredible the story is so inspiring and I loved it

Very good reading!

Is an awesome approach to the behind the scenes of a champion in life and in the pool.

More accurate title: My Perfect Life

Parts of the book are really good but parts of it are annoying.

The Good: I enjoyed listening about her dedication to the sport and her back problems which led to a disappointing Olympics games in Rio.

The Bad: She really had a blessed life – parents who love and support her, no issues regarding money and ability to train with the best coaches, natural swimming talent, tons of friends, popular, smart, etc. While that is wonderful for her, it doesn’t make that interesting of a story. It’s hard to relate to someone who had the perfect life and no problems to overcome. Her biggest complaint was that her back injury prevented her from getting a medal in an individual event in the Olympics. Uhhhh …. ok. Not really a struggle by any definition. Towards the end of the book, there was too much God this, blah, blah, blah. I wanted to hear more what the Olympics was like, but London was told from her parents’ perspective. She wrote that she was not going to talk about London because everyone heard about it already. How dumb to leave out the most interesting part of your life in an autobiography. The parents’ biggest complaint was that their FREE seats to watch the Olympics were nosebleeds. But don’t worry, this was resolved when the owner of a sport team upgraded them to front rows. This family must live in the most pristine world ever where there are absolutely no real problems. Another part that was contrived is at the very end where she says her favorite thing to do is to visit cancer patients in the hospital. Yet, she makes no mention of doing anything like that in the first 99% of the book. I wasn’t a fan of the side whispers, “by now you know I love puns” and dropping the article “the” in sentences. So instead of “The best part of swimming…” it read as “Best part of swimming…”

The book is ok, but not great.