Since competing on the U.S. Ski team in the late 1960s, Lee Hall Delfausse, author of the novel Snow Sanctuary (The Peppertree Press, 2018), has spent a lot of time thinking about female sports, mental health and debilitating self-doubt.
“The self-doubt that existed in the sport is mind boggling,” she says of her time on the women’s team. “Today, the self-doubt in these athletes is still there.”
Delfausse’s comments come as we discuss the recent decisions of tennis player Naomi Osaka to pull out of the French Open and the withdrawal of gymnast Simone Biles from the individual all-around competition and three other events at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Both women attributed their decisions to needing to address their mental health.
Delfausse, who went on to play tennis competitively and to coach, cautions that her perspectives are based on her experiences in tennis and skiing. But she also believes the isolation that comes with being a professional female athlete, particularly in an individual sport, adds to what can seem to be insurmountable challenges in female sports, including sexism, body image and even the trauma of sexual abuse.
“There is progress,” Delfausse says, pointing to female athletes such as Biles and Osaka who, by speaking out, are putting a much needed focus on female athletes’ mental health. “But read between the lines and you’ll find self-doubt.”
There are, of course, other female athletes speaking out about mental health and how their sport has affected their sense of self. FIS Cross-Country World Cup champion Jessie Diggins’ recent book, Brave Enough,(University of Minnesota Press, 2020) discusses the personal challenges, including bulimia, that she has faced in becoming a professional female athlete. Gymnast Aly Raisman, author of Fierce: How Competing for Myself Changed Everything (Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2018), was one of many female gymnasts to go on record accusing USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nasser of sexual assault and has since become an advocate for female body positivity.
The gender-based anti-discrimination law Title IX, not in place when Delfausse was competing, has helped bring some parity to female sports, but she says much more needs to be done to create a more healthy environment for female athletes. She believes female coaches, female athlete mentors and female life coaches are important supports for female athletes. Also important, she says, is providing opportunities for female athletes to participate in the world outside their sport, both through down time and through internships or part-time jobs. “Athletes need to be able to say, ‘I can put myself in different situations and survive,’ and…to (know who they are) beyond their sport,” she says.
Her own book, Snow Sanctuary, explores some of these issues. “Fiction has been an effective vehicle,” she says, based on feedback she has received from females athletes, parents and coaches who have used her book to discuss the challenges of being a female athlete and preserving mental health.
Below are a selection of books that Delfausse and other female athletes have written or recommend:
Brave Enough (University of Minnesota Press, 2020) by Jessie Diggins
2020 World Cup Skiing Champion and Minnesota native Jessie Diggins describes the challenges and frustrations of becoming a serious athlete; learning how to push through and beyond physical and physiological limits; and the intense pressure of competing at the highest levels. She also shares her harrowing struggle with bulimia, recounting the adversity and how she healed from it to help others dealing with eating disorders.
Bravey (Dial Press, 2021) by Alexi Pappas
The Olympic runner, actress, filmmaker and writer Alexi Pappas shares what she’s learning about confidence, self-reliance, mental health, embracing pain, and achieving dreams. Mindy Kaling calls the book heartbreaking and hilarious. Adam Grant couldn’t put it down.
Fierce: How Competing for Myself Changed Everything (Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2018) by Aly Raisman
Gymnast Aly Raisman’s inspiring story is a book for young readers on dedication, perseverance, and learning to think positively as reflected through her own path to gold medal success in two Olympic games. It tackles head on the shame she felt for her athletic body and the sexual assault she experienced.
Out and Back: A Runner’s Story of Surviving Against All Odds (Blue Star Press, 2021) by Hillary Allen
Less a story about being a female athlete specifically, this memoir by world class ultra runner Hillary Allen discusses Allen’s fight to rehabilitate her body and her belief in herself after a harrowing life-altering fall from a mountain ridge.
Snow Sanctuary (The Peppertree Press, 2018) by Lee Hall Delfausse
Author Lee Hall Delfausse’s ski-racing saga takes readers back to the 1970s, yet remains timely. This fast-paced novel shows male coaches taking advantage of young, ambitious female skiers and explores how athletes can deal with it. Delfausse’s hope is that her work encourages young people, especially girls, to discover self-confidence, resilience and self-reliance through sports and mountain adventures.
What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen (Back Bay Books, 2018) by Kate Fagan
This heartbreaking book by espnW columnist Kate Fagan tells the story of the life and eventual suicide of college athlete Madison Holleran. “What started as a profile of a successful young athlete whose life ended in suicide became so much larger when Fagan started to hear from other college athletes also struggling with mental illness,” reads the description of the New York Times bestseller.
Women in Sports in the United States: A Documentary Reader (Dartmouth College Press, 2018) Edited by Jaime Shultz, Susan K. Hahn and Jean O’Reilly
Lee Hall Delfausse recommends this book as a must read to understand the evolution of women’s sports that came with the implementation of Title IX of the 1972 Federal Education Amendments, a law banning gender discrimination in education settings and ensuring women’s right to an equitable share of athletic opportunities and resources. This updated expanded edition of Women in Sports in the United States brings together scholarly articles, journalism, political and legal documents, and first-person accounts that collectively explore women’s sports in America with an emphasis on the new millennium.
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