Dare to Make History: Chasing a Dream and Fighting for Equity

by Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, Monique Lamoureux-Morando

Overview

Dare to Make History is the story of two courageous and talented women who weren’t willing to accept anything less than being treated as equals. On their journey to a gold medal in women’s ice hockey, they became role models for generations before and after them.


Twins Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando started playing ice hockey with their four older brothers and their friends on a frozen pond next to their home in North Dakota. No girls hockey teams, no problem―they just played on boys teams.


They went on to win six World Championships and played in three Olympics, winning two silver medals and ultimately a gold medal in South Korea in 2018 for the USA Women’s National Team.


They did not allow roadblocks and discrimination deter them from taking on their governing body—USA Hockey—threatening to boycott the 2017 World Championships and jeopardizing their ability to compete in the 2018 Olympics unless their gender equity issues were addressed. The success of Monique, Jocelyne, and their team thrust them into the center of the struggle for gender equity, for women in hockey and in sports in general, as well as in society at large.


In Dare to Make History, the Lamoureux twins chronicle their journey to the pinnacle of their sport, their efforts along with almost 150 other hockey players to start a new professional women’s hockey league, their training to come back and make another national team after giving birth, their tireless efforts to advance the interests of disadvantaged communities in closing the digital divide, and their ongoing contributions as role models championing the dreams of future generations of girls in sports, education, and the workplace.


This is not a hockey book. It is not a girls book. It is a book about the importance of the fight for equity, particularly gender equity. It is the inspirational story of how two young women from a small town in North Dakota have dreamed big—had the courage to take on huge battles—and in the end how they have dared to make history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781635767278
Publisher:	Radius Book Group
Publication date:	02/23/2021
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	214,264
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	10 Years

About the Author

Jocelyne Lamoureux Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando share many things in common. They are identical twin sisters, born and raised in North Dakota. Starting at age 5, they began to play ice hockey with and against their four older brothers and on boys teams because there were no girls teams. Their competitive hockey careers started on the frozen pond in the back of their house but eventually extended to the world stage. Always playing on the same team, they won seven world championships, two Olympic silver medals, and ultimately, an Olympic gold medal in PyeongChang, South Korea in 2018. In the gold medal game, Monique scored the tying goal and Jocelyne scored the highlight reel shootout winning goal.


Monique and Jocelyne are much more than world-class athletes, though. They were raised to be difference makers. Before the 2017 world championships, the Lamoureux twins and their team put their gold medal hopes at risk by taking on their governing body by championing the cause of gender equity for themselves and for the next generation of female hockey players.


After the 2018 Olympics, they became mothers within six weeks of each other and now share a new bond of motherhood and a brand new motivation to continue their hockey careers.


Both women are dedicated to leveling the playing field for young girls and women, whether in sports, the workplace, or life. They both reside in Grand Forks, North Dakota, with their husbands and sons.

Table of Contents

Foreword Mika Brzezinski 1

Introduction: Making the Team 5

Part 1 The Dream 13

1 It Begins With a Dream 15

2 You Have to Swim the Laps 21

3 The Path to Winning 25

4 Playing Against Boys 31

5 Setting Priorities: Family, Hockey, and School 37

6 Nothing Less Than Our Best 43

7 Just the Start 49

8 Teamwork 55

9 Perspective 59

10 Graduation 67

Part 2 Team USA 73

11 One Is Better Than None 75

12 The Spin Move of All Time 81

13 Vancouver 2010 85

14 Starting Over 91

15 Heart and Character 99

16 Triple Overtime 105

17 Sochi 113

Part 3 The Battle for Equity and Gold 121

18 A Recipe for Success 123

19 Inequities-Time to Make a Statement 127

20 They All Wanted to Help 133

21 One Group, One Voice, Unbreakable 141

22 Be Bold for Change 147

23 Dare to Make History 155

24 Perfect Timing 161

25 Even Stronger 165

26 Pyeongchang 175

27 Gold 179

Part 4 Bigger Than Us 191

28 Almost Famous 193

29 Playing For Two 199

30 Cheer For the One Behind 205

31 Bigger Than Us 213

Letters of Change 220

Acknowledgments 224

Index 229

Editorial Reviews

This book takes you on Jocelyne and Monique’s wild ride to success and what it took to get there. It’s more than a story about hockey or sports. It’s more than a story of hard work, determination, and embracing adversity. This is a story of clear and serious purpose."

- Mika Brzezinski, Co-host, MSNBC’s Morning Joe



"Parents who want their children to succeed in sports will find this book instructive, but more importantly, parents who want their children to succeed in life as good, honest, and brave humans will find this book invaluable and truly inspirational.”

- Heidi Heitkamp, Former US Senator (D-ND)



“For anyone looking for a blueprint on how to turn hard work into gold, this is an extraordinary story about a family believing in one another. The Lamoureux twins champion a cause bigger than themselves—fighting for gender equity. These stories leave you wanting more.”

- Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Track & Field Olympic Champion



"Beyond the twins’ gripping account at the 2018 Olympics, they explain that winning Gold was just part of the journey. They accomplished their goal of leaving the game in a more equitable place for the girls who would come after them. They are champions in life!”

- Julie Foudy, ESPN analyst, Two-time World Cup and Olympic Soccer Champion



"Dare to Make History is a compelling story of grit, resiliency, and living your core values. Monique and Jocelyne share their inspirational story of chasing Olympic gold and putting that dream on the line to fight for equity in hockey. After having to play with boys and facing discrimination throughout their youth hockey years, Monique and Jocelyne demanded more equal opportunities and a culture change within the sport. At the doorstep of the Olympics, they risked it all to further the cause of equality. Through confidence and determination, these women fought to make the journey easier for the next generation of women hockey players.

This book will motivate you to advocate and cheer 'for the ones left behind'—the young women still struggling for their own sheet of ice. I am inspired by Monique, Jocelyne and the rest of the US women’s hockey team and their efforts to address inequalities in the sport. These young women created new paths, fans, and dreams within the sport of hockey. Dare to Make History is a reminder that we have the ability and obligation to drive change for the betterment of the next generation."

- Valerie Camillo, President of Business Operations, Philadelphia Flyers



“For all these [athletic] accomplishments, it is their work off the ice that they chose to highlight in this memoir: not only their efforts to succeed in a male-dominated sport, but also to change hockey so that the girls who came after them would have an easier time than they did.”

– Kirkus Reviews



“It’s a powerful story of athletic perseverance, teamwork, and hard-earned victory—and so much more. The book also details the twins’ battle for gender equity in a male-dominated sport and society. The authors provide a behind-the-scenes look at how their demands for more equitable treatment from USA Hockey (USAH)—and their refusal to accept anything less than equitable treatment—changed the game forever and are changing society as well.”

– Publishers Weekly



"Most of us know that Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux were exceptional hockey players who led the United States to the Olympic gold medal in 2018. What we did not know is how exceptional they are as storytellers. What an incredible story they tell in Dare to Make History, challenging built-in bias to become great, fighting for equity even it if meant risking everything, overcoming obstacle after obstacle to be the best in the world. This is a goosebump narrative told with seriousness, fun, humor and the enduring message that dreams can come true if you never stop believing in them."

- Buzz Bissinger, New York Times Bestselling Author, Friday Night Lights



"The book tells the inspiring story of their rise to become gold medal-winning hockey players in the 2018 Olympics and their ongoing fight for gender equity within a male-dominated sport and society...Having already achieved many of their early aspirations and goals, the Lamoureux twins wanted to leave the game better than they entered it by creating opportunities and equity for generations to come."

– Fansided



"It’s a comprehensive, exciting account of their careers that also lends valuable insight into how the sport of women’s hockey has grown and shifted over that timespan. And it’s told by two people who not only witnessed that growth but put in so much effort themselves to help foster it."

– The Ice Garden



"Dare to Make History: Chasing a Dream and Fighting for Equity is everything you are hoping for in a memoir, it explains the highs and lows of personal life while also reflecting on how each sister rose to fame in the women’s hockey world. From the beginning, both attribute many of their qualities to their parents constantly having them focus on being good people on and off the ice, even giving credit to their mom for sparking their desire to play for Team USA in the Olympics. Readers will get an intimate look into the lives of two transcendent women who have faced adversity throughout their careers. Monique and Jocelyne detail everything from their early youth hockey days playing with the boys, their successful high school and college careers, to their decision to fight for equity with USA Hockey. Throughout the story it is clear just how dedicated and selfless their efforts are to ensure young girls will have a better future in hockey than ever before."

– Women’s Hockey Life

From the Publisher

2021-02-08
Two twins recount their glass ceiling–shattering careers in women’s hockey in this debut memoir.

Lamoureux-Davidson and Lamoureux-Morando started playing competitive hockey when they were 5 years old. They were something of a novelty: twin sisters competing with the boys because there were no girls teams, even in their hockey-obsessed hometown of Grand Forks, North Dakota. In the third grade, Lamoureux-Davidson turned in a school assignment that listed this among her dreams: “When I am seventeen years old, I want to be on the American or Canadian Olympic hockey team with my sister Monique.” The girls would indeed go on to play for the American Olympic team, winning silver medals in 2010 and 2014 and bringing home the gold in 2018. For all these accomplishments, it is their work off the ice that they chose to highlight in this memoir: not only their efforts to succeed in a male-dominated sport, but also to change hockey so that the girls who came after them would have an easier time than they did. The twins’ activism culminated in a battle with USA Hockey over equal rights for female athletes—a clash that almost led to a boycott of the 2017 World Championships. In between, their account covers the unlikely rise of not just one, but two world-class athletes and the colorful family that surrounded them. The authors split the storytelling duties, alternating between sections narrated from Lamoureux-Davidson’s or Lamoureux-Morando’s perspectives. The prose is a bit stilted, but the content is often thoughtful. Here Lamoureux-Davidson remembers a meeting with USA Hockey: “One of the USA Hockey representatives talked about a USAH staff member’s daughter and said because of her influence, he was passionate about ‘the other side,’ referring to us and women’s hockey. I interrupted him. ‘That is the problem right there,’ I said. ‘There are no sides.’ ” The book works as a traditional achievement memoir, but the advocacy of the authors—based in practical issues like a living wage and maternity leave—makes this a more pointedly feminist narrative than is normal for the genre. It is also the story of a remarkable friendship in which two sisters challenged and motivated each other to reach the top of their field.

An inspiring sports account about doing your best while improving the game.

Kirkus Reviews