Danielle Brittain
Dr. Danielle Brittain is the author of Warriors, and she is also the team doctor for the South African rowing team, yet her incredible journey started much earlier than that.
Her sons, Lawrence and Matthew, were the first brothers to win Olympic gold in South Africa during the Rio Olympics. This special feat came after a rough period in Lawrence’s life. This amazing reality inspired her to write a book based on Lawrence’s journey.
However, after she realized that Matthew’s journey was just as incredible, as winning a gold medal is no small feat, she made the decision to base the book on the two brothers.
That said, Dr. Brittain knew she still had to provide the backstory, which includes their father, David’s, history with rowing and attempting to enter the 1996 Summer Olympics. As such, it wasn’t long before the idea for the story grew from there.
Description
What does it take to win gold at the Olympic Games? How many years of hard work and dedication does it take to prepare for such a feat? How many disappointments do you have to endure on this journey?
Danielle Brittain has walked this journey over and over again – her two sons won Olympic gold for South Africa in rowing, all four of her sons have rowed at top levels, and she is currently the team doctor for the SA rowing team. Danielle has faced her own battles with cancer and then watched as her son battled Hodgkin’s Lymphoma during his Olympic training and overcame it and went on to win gold after his recovery in this high-performance sport.
The Olympic wins for the South African teams at the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics were iconic moments for South Africa and Brittain’s descriptions of what the wins meant for the individuals in the teams, their families, the coaching staff, and ordinary South Africans demonstrates the power of sport to unite the country.
A rowing story, a family story, a cancer survival story, a South African story – and the story of a mother watching it all unfold.
