Now, Beth shares the challenges that shaped her, what she faced on the journey to the top, and the life events that made her stronger – from being dropped from the England squad and receiving devastating family news, to finding her best form under the guidance of Jonas Eidevall and Sarina Wiegman.

It sounds like such a minor thing, but we put so much pressure on ourselves as players that we often forget this. From being placed in the local boys' team as a child because her mum wanted her to run off her boundless energy, to joining Middlesbrough FC's Centre of Excellence and making her professional debut at Sunderland, Beth and women's football have come a long way. Beth Mead has been an inspiration to me for quite a few years now and being able to read about her journey helped me understand her more as a person and player.It's inspiring, well-written, and filled with anecdotes of some of the most important moments in Beth Mead's life– from signing with her now-club Arsenal to winning the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 with England's Lionesses– and everything in between.

Beth takes a dive into her own personal life and what has happened over her career which helps her strive to be the best player, she takes difficult events in her life and uses them to power her mentality for the game. Anyone reading this review who isn’t from England might not realise how captivated we were as a country by the 2022 European Championships. I never really know how to rate autobiographies as they are someone’s real life, so this will remain unrated for now, but this was such a great read. It opens with a prologue detailing the disappointment of not making it to the 2020 Olympics, and then moves on to tell us her whole football journey from childhood to the 2022 Euros. At Boro’s Centre of Excellence, England training camps she attended as a teen, and when she first started at Arsenal as an adult.

During the retelling of each game, I watched the highlights on YouTube, watching it with fresh eyes, now knowing what was said in the changing rooms, in the tunnel, on the pitch, shouted between players after a goal. Her talent was quickly identified and she eventually signed for WSL side Sunderland before joining Arsenal.

But long before this, Beth was just an ordinary kid from Hinderwell, North Yorkshire who wanted to play football. I loved this book, it was fascinating to read about Beth Meads football journey from day 1 until present day. A very inspiring story that journals Beth Mead's football career from the start all the way up until the infamous Euros win. I love how she didn’t just talk about football, but also about anything else that has affected her life, like sexuality, illness, depression, and family.To tire her out before bedtime, starting when she was 2, her dad would pass a ball back and forth on the hallway landing. I’m a huge Gooner (unofficially crowned as the biggest Gooner at Northville High School) but I’ve really only paid attention to the men’s game. She was also named Player of the Tournament and has since won England Women's Player of the Year and been nominated for the 2022 Ballon d'Or Féminin and the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2022. Sarina Wiegmann was the catalyst for the women's team achieving success, bringing a strong work ethic but also valuing each player as an individual. Just like Megan Rapinoe’s One Life, this was a great insight into what it’s actually like for female footballers, but this time from a British perspective.

The England team continues to work tirelessly to ensure that girls and women in sport receive equal recognition and treatment, whatever level they are playing at. Beth Mead is one of the world's most talented footballers - Golden Boot winner and Player of the Tournament at the UEFA Euro 2022, England Player of the Year 2021-22, Arsenal Player of the Season 2021-22, and nominee for the 2022 Ballon d'Or. I felt like I was having a conversation with Beth and she was just telling me her story sitting next to me.

I rewatched some of those moments again having read her perspective and was amazed all over again that England won the Euros. They’ve transformed women’s football and I’m so excited to continue to follow and support the growth of the game. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.