Abigail Pesta

"This may be the most important sports title of the year." ―Library Journal (starred review) "Abigail Pesta's new book lends an essential platform to the voices of the brave women who brought down predator Larry Nassar. We must continue to listen to these women and their stories. Now we can do just that, thanks to Ms. Pesta's excellent reporting." ―Gloria Steinem "Pesta's empathy for these girls and women is palpable, and powerful. The book has the effect of a chorus of righteous anger." ―Los Angeles Times "This is a courageous, courageous book. The Girls is probably the most thorough account of this case." —Dr. Phil "Journalist Abigail Pesta reveals a shocking and ultimately inspiring chronicle of what Nassar's survivors endured, and how a decades-long fight to be heard was finally won." ―Salon "In the #MeToo era, The Girls is a powerful addition to the nationwide conversations and reckonings happening around sexual abuse, harassment and violence." —Ms. Magazine "Pesta's compassionate, in-depth reporting is startling in its entirety and candor and should be read by coaches, counselors, therapists, law enforcement officers, sports writers, parents of young athletes and athletes, university officials. Her writing is straightforward and compelling without straying into sensationalism." ―Lansing City Pulse "In interviews with 25 survivors — including the likely first victim and the last — journalist Abigail Pesta documents how [Nassar] honed his manipulation skills to become the most prolific predator in sports history." —Marie Claire "The work that Abigail Pesta has done with this book is incredible, to tell the stories of these women and girls exactly the way it needs to be told. This book is one that every single person who works in sport should read." —Female Coaching Network "The Girls takes a headline-grabbing case and makes it human." —Paste Magazine "Through interviews that reveal the experiences of many victims — from the first known survivor to the last — Pesta tells a story of betrayal and, ultimately, resilience." —Notre Dame Magazine "The damage to these young women has been immeasurable ... but they have reclaimed control of their lives from a predator who is destined to die in prison. The Girls is their story of courage." —New York Journal of Books "With journalistic verve, Pesta chronicles the unstoppable force of the survivors' voices swelling into a battle cry." ―Tina Brown, founder and CEO of Tina Brown Live Media/Women in the World "Deeply personal, powerful, and filled with stunning new insights into the Nassar scandal, this gripping narrative grabs you by the heart and leaves you cheering for these courageous women who felled a beast." ―Joanna Coles, executive producer of The Bold Type "Like no one else writing today, Abigail Pesta penetrates deep into the anguish of people. In The Girls, Pesta details the incredible untold stories of how dozens of teenage gymnasts, after decades of abuse by a trusted doctor, finally break through his small army of powerful protectors and send him to jail for at least one hundred years." ―Paul Steiger, former managing editor of The Wall Street Journal and founding editor of ProPublica "The Girls is a riveting, angering, un-put-down-able and ultimately triumphant story. With new information at every turn, this impeccably reported, eloquent narrative provides stunning insights into the saga of the most prolific sexual predator in sports history. An unforgettable book, which only a woman could write with the nuance, depth, and compassion it deserves." ―Sheila Weller, author of Girls Like Us