From basketball icon Brittney Griner comes a captivating memoir about her journey from early athletic stardom to her page-turning account of how she persevered in a Russian prison—now adapted for young adults. On February 17, 2022, Brittney Griner arrived in Moscow ready to play for a Russian women’s basketball team. Instead, a security checkpoint became her gateway to hell and she was arrested for mistakenly carrying a small amount of an illegal substance in Russia. Brittney’s world was violently upended in a crisis that would capture the interest of an entire nation. Brittney shares this harrowing story of courage and strength, while recalling her teenage years where she found meaning and empowerment in sports, and overcoming her own struggles with her sexual identity. Her principles of fortitude and courage are ever evident as she goes on to recount her feelings of isolation while navigating a foreign legal system, her emotional and physical anguish as the first American woman ever to endure a Russian penal colony, the chilling prisoner swap with Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, and her remarkable rise from hostage to global spokesperson on behalf of other detained Americans. Young readers will identify with Brittney's story of overcoming insurmountable odds, finding strength within herself, and navigating the ups and downs of coming of age as a queer Black woman. Coming Home is both a story of survival and a testament to love—the bonds that brought Brittney home to her family, and ultimately, to herself. " A chronicle of rebounding against unthinkable odds ; Griner’s voice and faith ring clear in this story of survival." — Kirkus Reviews BRITTNEY GRINER is a pioneer, humanitarian, and activist and was named as one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2023. Griner is an NCAA champion, a WNBA champion, and a three-time Olympic gold medalist. Winner of the Best Female Athlete ESPY Award, and a nine-time WNBA All-Star, Griner is one of the most decorated and influential athletes of this generation. Michelle Burford is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and a founding editor of O: The Oprah Magazine. She is a Harvard-trained journalist whose work has taken her to more than thirty-five countries on six continents. A native of Phoenix, Burford now lives in New York City. Tonya Abari is an independent journalist, author, essayist, collaborative writer, and reviewer. With a wide range of interests in both children’s and adult, her words have been published in the Nashville Scene , Essence , AllRecipes , Ambrook Research , The Kitchn , USA Today , Publishers Weekly , Parents , Romper , Good Housekeeping , PBS Kids , and many more. Abari has forthcoming projects with Chronicle Books, The Innovation Press, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, HarperCollins, and Penguin Random House. When she’s not writing, Tonya can be found discovering new places, dancing to an early 2000s playlist, homeschooling two children, and enjoying food pop-ups with her family, all whose names also begin with “T.” A native of Baltimore, she now lives and writes from Nashville. 1 A Doomed Flight That whole day was strange. On the morning of my Russia flight, my wife and I lingered till the last minute because something in me kept whispering, Don’t go. “Babe, we gotta get out of here,” Relle finally said around 8:30 a.m. Oh snap. Two hours till takeoff. Relle was planning to ride with me to the airport and then go to brunch with a friend. She threw on a sundress as I dragged myself out of bed. From then on, everything went sideways. Relle usually packs for me. I hold the WNBA record for most dunks, and I can practically block a shot in my sleep, but please don’t ask me to organize anything. Not a closet. Not a pantry. Not a schedule. And definitely not a suitcase. That’s my wife’s territory and also her talent. I do the hooping, she does the planning. I do the driving, she does the shopping. I open doors, she walks through them. Our skills are complementary, which is what makes us a perfect team. Also, we’re both Southerners, old-­school traditional. Several months before this trip, however, we’d switched things up. She was in her third year of law school, juggling two jobs and running on fumes. “Our support has to look different,” she said. Of course. “Babe, don’t worry,” I told her. “I got this.” In principle, that was true. In practice, I was a mess. Even with our new plan in place, my baby had my back ahead of this trip. Every time I’d fly home on break, she’d do a Target run to stock up on the American foods and seasonings I couldn’t get in Russia: candy, cookies, brown sugar, pancake mix, Worcestershire sauce, Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce, and of course my Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning. My mom’s from Louisiana, Cajun country, so I don’t play when it comes to my spices. I love to eat, always have, and my food needs to taste right. Before our Valentine’s Day celebration, Rell