She fulfilled her lifelong dream in 1996 by winning an Olympic gold medal in gymnastics. But like many dreams, Dominique Moceanu's had its dark side. "Nobody really knew what was going on," says the 17-year-old of her home life in Houston, Texas.

"I am terrified of my father," Dominique reported in a 1998 sworn affidavit. She accused him of squandering the millions she'd earned as a professional athlete, of yelling at her constantly, stalking her friends, even slapping her once after she'd gained weight. The Houston police investigated an allegation (never substantiated) that her father, Dumitru, had ordered a hit on Dominique's coach and also on a friend. Though Dumitru denied all charges of violence and stalking, to Dominique the relationship was troubling enough that it pushed her to publicly "divorce" her parents. Two years after the world watched Dominique's triumphant Olympic win, she won legal independence from her parents and, months later, a protective court order requiring that her father stay away from her for a year.

"This is not something you do because you fight with your parents," she says. "All teenagers fight with their parents. It is only when you have a really good cause and when life becomes unbearable because the problems run deeper than simple disagreements-that's when you have to make this decision."

Dominique has begun the process of reconciling with her family-on her own terms. Still, she has no regrets. "I realized that if I wasn't happy, it was up to me to do something about it; no one else could do it for me."

She believes that loving friends and the self-discipline she learned as an athlete are what gave her the strength to change her life. These days, Dominique is pursuing new dreams: to compete in the Olympics again, go to college, become a sports commentator. "I have a lifetime ahead of me," she says. "I don't want to spend any of it feeling bitter about the past."

(p. 115)