One Life: Young Readers Edition

Gr 4-7–Rapinoe read her original 2020 memoir herself. Here, for the young readers edition, Nicole Lewis proves to be an optimal, dynamic match. Rapinoe made international headlines—and fielded a vicious media onslaught—when she emulated Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling protests against racism targeting Black people. Recognizing her “four-hundred-year baked-in advantage” as a white person, she’s continuously educated herself about injustice. As one the world’s best soccer players—2012 Olympic gold medalist, two-time Women’s World Cup champion (2015, 2019)—her achievements have provided her a public platform. She came out as gay, talks candidly about her brother’s drug addiction, and continues to fight for pay equity in professional soccer: “Given the breaks I’ve had, speaking out seems like the least I can do.”