The true story of the 1986 U.S. National Gymnastics champion whose lifelong dream was to compete in the Olympics, until anorexia, injuries, and coaching abuses nearly destroyed her
Fanciful dreams of gold medals and Nadia Comaneci led Jennifer Sey to become a gymnast at the age of six. She was a natural at the sport, and her early success propelled her family to sacrifice everything to help her become, by age eleven, one of America’s elite,competing at prestigious events worldwide alongside such future gymnastics’ luminaries as Mary Lou Retton.
But as she set her sights higher and higher—the senior national team, the World Championships, the 1988 Olympics—Sey began to change, putting her needs, her health, and her well-being aside in the name of winning. And the adults in her life refused to notice her downward spiral.
In Chalked Up Sey reveals the tarnish behind her gold medals. A powerful portrait of intensity and drive, eating disorders and stage parents, abusive coaches and manipulative businessmen, denial and the seduction of success, it is the story of a young girl whose dreams would become eclipsed by the adults around her. As she recounts her experiences, Sey sheds light on the destructiveness of our winning-is-everything culture where underage and underweight girls are celebrated and on the need for balance in children’s lives.

Chalked Up: Inside Elite Gymnastics' Merciless Coaching, Overzealous Parents, Eating Disorders, and Elusive Olympic Dreams

Sey, Jennifer

Humor & Entertainment

William Morrow

Fanciful dreams of gold-medal glory led Jennifer Sey to the local gymnastics club in 1976. A natural aptitude and a willingness to endure punishing hard work took her to the elite ranks by the time she was eleven years old. Jennifer traveled the country and the world competing for the U.S. National team, but the higher she set her sights—the world championships, the 1988 Olympics—the more she began to ignore her physical and mental well-being. Jennifer suffered devastating injuries, developed an eating disorder, and lived far from family and friends, all for the sake of winning. When her parents and coaches lost sight of her best interests, Jennifer had no choice but to redefine her path into adulthood. She had to save herself. Chalked Up delivers an unforgettable coming-of-age story that will resonate with anyone who has ever felt not good enough and has finally come to accept who they were meant to be.

Chalked Up: My Life in Elite Gymnastics

It Books

Jennifer Sey was on track to become the first woman CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. As the President of the Levi's brand, she was widely celebrated as a versatile and inspirational leader who had helped save the iconic brand from bankruptcy. Formerly a self-described "left of left of center" progressive, she was beloved as the embodiment of the company's "profits through principles" ethos. 
But everything changed when Sey publicly opposed the closure of San Francisco's public schools at the height of the pandemic. In response to her 'wrongthink, ' management gave her a choice: shut up or leave. She decided that defending at-risk children was more important than the job that she loved, and so she resigned. After more than two decades at the company, she gave up her professional future in order to retain her voice. 
In Levi's Unbuttoned, Sey recounts her remarkable journey from U.S. National Gymnastics champion through her rise up the corporate ladder at Levi's. As the highest profile executive to fall victim to the cancel culture engulfing America, her story is an inspiration for all those who, in these difficult times, feel pressured to remain silent on their most fundamental beliefs. 
The more Americans who stand up to "woke-ism," the better chance we have at creating a truly equitable and inclusive society. Principles and integrity matter. Ultimately, they matter more than anything else.

Levi's Unbuttoned: The Woke Mob Took My Job but Gave Me My Voice

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

All Seasons Press

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