He has an Olympic gold, fans all over the world, a million dollar smile and a body most of us would die for - but it turns out diving’s gay golden boy Matthew Mitcham is just as screwed up as the rest of us. He reveals all in his compelling autobiography, Twists and Turns. When you see Matthew Mitcham on TV he is usually grinning from ear to ear and bouncing around like a cute puppy. It’s something of a shock trying to fit that happy-go-lucky image with the self-doubt, depression and addiction he reveals in Twists and Turns. Mitcham’s 24 years have come with some great highs, some terrible highs, and some mighty lows. The single-mum raised Queenslander was the last one picked for footy, and bullied for not being blokey, something which drove him to decide he wanted to be the best in the world at something, so people would like him. When he was given a second-hand trampoline his growing ability to flip and somersault led him into competitive trampolining. One day he was spotted mucking around at a swimming pool, and corralled into diving … the rest, they usually say, is history, but there is plenty more to tell for Matthew Mitcham. The most perfect dive in history he achieved to win gold at Beijing was put down as a fluke by a young man riddled with self-doubt, who had thought being the best in the world at something would fix his self-esteem. It didn’t. Being gay was one of the things that made him feel less, as he explains when he talks about introducing his partner Lachlan to his wider family: “When I try to pinpoint my apprehension, I can only put it down to the subliminal message that I, and no doubt countless other young LGBT kids picked up from society: that gay is not as good as straight. It’s quite terrifying to realise that, despite all the evidence to invalidate our concerns, this subliminal message we take on as children gets so deeply rooted that it impacts what we believe about ourselves and how we live for years and years.” Mitcham’s autobiography is far from the type of boring monotonous sports biographies that have been churned out lately. It’s a straight-up rousing read. Mitcham doesn’t BS you. He lays it all on the line and tells it like it was, and how it now is. It’s inspiring, but not in the Hallmark card made for TV movie way. The boy was a huge success and a huge mess, and he tells us so. Whether you are even into sport or diving or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s not really a sports book. It’s a young gay man’s tale of self-doubt, addiction and depression: issues which ravage people like us. Even our golden boy wasn’t immune. And if you’re anything like this reader, his revelations will only make your cheer louder next time he takes on the world, and his demons, at the Olympic pool. - Reviewed by Jacqui Stanford Jacqui Stanford - 30th November 2012