Naomi Girma names Fifty-seven Fridays to summer reading list

As the US Women’s National Soccer Team prepares to represent their country at the Paris Olympics, stars Naomi Girma, Rose Lavelle, and Emily Fox shared what books they’ll be bringing along as companions.

For the NWSL two-time Defender of the Year Naomi Girma, Fifty-seven Fridays is at the top of her list.

“I know it will be a beautifully written but heartbreaking story. Even though it will be sad, I’m excited to read it because it is important to constantly reflect and be thankful for loved ones and all the love in your life,” shared Girma.

Fifty-seven Fridays is E-Motion Founder Myra Sack’s memoir. The memoir shares Myra and her husband Matt’s journey as their one year old daughter - Havi Lev Goldstein - is diagnosed with Tay-Sachs, a fatal neurodegenerative disease with a life expectancy of 2-4 years. In the face of such limited time together on Earth, Myra, Matt, and Havi, surrounded by their closest family and friends, learn to live, love, and grieve together through fifty-seven weeks until Havi’s death on January 20, 2021.

Girma first connected with E-Motion as a part of the Create the Space mental health initiative in partnership with Common Goal. Inspired by the life and tragic death of her best friend and former Stanford teammate Katie Meyer, Girma reflects “I was really wanting to do…something I thought could have helped a younger Katie. I didn’t want anyone else’s family, friends or community to have to go through something like this.”