American ice hockey champions and Olympic gold medalists, Monique Lamoureux-Morando and Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, have recently announced the release of their autobiography, DARE TO MAKE HISTORY: Chasing a Dream and Fighting for Equity. The book officially hits bookshelves and e-commerce sites today, as the twin sisters kick off a virtual book tour to inspire audiences across America.
In their book Dare to Make History, the Lamoureux twins chronicle their journey to the pinnacle of their sport, and their ongoing efforts to advance the cause of gender equity and to level the playing field, including their current efforts, along with almost 150 other hockey players, to start a new professional women’s hockey league. They recount the challenges they faced on the road to Olympic gold, and share how they became role models through their passion and unwillingness to accept anything less than being treated as equals. The book chronicles their training to return to the national team after starting families, and their ongoing contributions as role models championing the dreams of future generations of girls in sports, education, and the workplace. After announcing their retirement earlier this month, they are devoting their future efforts to continuing their fight for gender equity, advancing the sport of women’s ice hockey, and to promoting the interests of disadvantaged communities.
The Lamoureux twins stated: “This is not a hockey book. It is not a girl’s 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.”
Dare to Make History began when Monique Lamoureux-Morando and Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson started playing ice hockey as young girls with their older brothers and their friends on a frozen pond next to their home in North Dakota. There were no girl’s teams, so they played on the boy’s teams. As their careers skyrocketed, and they rose to the world stage, they faced roadblocks and discrimination, but that did not deter them from taking on ice hockey’s governing body, USA Hockey. They and their teammates risked their ability to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics to address gender equity issues and force a restructuring of women’s hockey. 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 women in all facets of business and life.
The Lamoureux twins explained: “We learned that winning a sports competition – even winning an Olympic gold medal – has its limits. But the platform that you gain by winning Olympic gold has no limits and is up to us to define. Knowing that girls have traditionally been told they are less than, we want to be examples for girls everywhere that they can be more than – more than ever before.”
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