"Survive and Advance" is a tournament strategy athletes employ to advance through the rounds. Whenever possible, athletes will attempt to advance to the next round without expending too much energy. The theory is that their best performance should come at the championships, in the final round, where the medals and titles are decided.

To Tianna Bartoletta, the "Survive and Advance" strategy is effective away from the field of play as well. To her, it means doing whatever is needed to survive life...moment to moment, to get to tomorrow to fight another day.

Tianna is defiance personified.

Defiant of gravity, and defiant in the face of adversity.

This revealing memoir by 3-time world champion, 2-time Olympian, and 3-time Olympic gold medalist Tianna Bartoletta, chronicles her drive to become an elite athlete and her climb to the top of her game...what you knew about her-and what you didn't-until now.

You may think you know what it means to be a champion,

but you're about to find out that you had no idea.