American Victory: Wrestling, Dreams, and a Journey Toward Home Book

The son of illegal Mexican immigrants Henry Cejudo surprised the world by winning an Olympic gold medal in wrestling for the U.S.A. in Beijing. This is his remarkable, inspiring story. Henry Cejudo's remarkable journey follows an unlikely hero from the mean streets of South Central L.A. to the glory of the Beijing Olympics. The first American in sixteen years and the youngest American ever to win the gold medal in this event, Henry's grit, passion, and resolve on display in China was a culmination of a life spent fighting- both on and off the mat. Henry was born into a world devoid of stability, a world of tiny apartments and empty refrigerators, his mother on the run from immigration; the youngest of six kids, he had to fight for everything. Until he joined the U.S. Olympic team, he had never had his own bed, never even had a pillow. American Victory is Henry's poignant and powerful memoir of growing up in a segment of the American population that is too often overlooked and underestimated, and how he rose above the statistics and the dangers to become a winner-a hero who embodies all that's best and most hopeful in the American dream. Read More