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Virginia teen Olympian reveals she nearly quit to work in fast food in new memoir

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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va (WTVR) – She captured all around gymnastics gold in the London Olympics this summer, and now Virginia Beach native Gabby Douglas is releasing her account of the 16 years it took her to get there.

Douglas’ book Grace, Gold and Glory: My Leap of Faith hits bookshelves today.

Published by Zondervan, the predominantly Christian arm of HaperCollins Publishing, it offers an in-depth look at the years the teen dedicated to her sport–including one new tidbit: She almost quit it all for a gig in fast food.

The New York Daily News reports that in her memoir, Douglas revealed she considered quitting the sport to take up a job at Chick-fil-A as recently as a year before the Olympics.

Douglas was reportedly fed up with her hectic practice schedule and was ready to be an ordinary kid. It took a dressing down from her older brother John to get her back on the road to gold.

According to the publisher, other topics addressed alleged discrimination Douglas experienced training in Virginia, her decision to leaver her family and train in Iowa, growing up with an absentee father, and how her faith helped her overcome these obstacles.

The 16-year-old co-authored the book with writer Michelle Burford.