There have been a lot of highs in Ronda Rousey's life, but there may have been even more lows.
At 28 years old, Rousey can boast of winning a bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Olympics, becoming the first-ever female mixed martial arts champion in the UFC, as well as the first MMA fighter to be featured as a Sports Illustrated magazine cover model, which comes out this month.
But Rousey was hit with every barrier imaginable on her way to the top, all of which she discusses in often graphic detail in her new book: "My Fight, Your Fight."
Some moments include describing what it feels like to dislocate her jaw, or how, when she pulls an opponent's arm out of its socket, it feels similar to tearing a leg off a roast turkey.
"I feel like the truth had to be told exactly how it was or else there was no point to what we were doing," the UFC women's bantamweight champion told CTV's Canada AM on Thursday.
The book she wrote with her sister chronicles Rousey's life, starting with the moment she was born in a stranglehold reminiscent of those she would later use to dominate in the ring. Her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck, depriving her of oxygen in the first crucial moments of life. She survived, but suffered developmental delays.
When she was a child, her father broke his back in a toboggan accident. After suffering chronic pain, he later took his own life. Rousey was eight at the time.
She then had a string of awful relationships with men including a drug addict who stole her car, one who took nude photos of her, and yet another who verbally abused her by making cruel comments about her body.
Even success brought its own challenges. For years she worked to go to the Olympics and in 2008 won the bronze medal. It was an amazing moment to bring home a medal after all her hard work, but the high didn't last long.
Rousey felt that she couldn't put herself through another four years of physically- and emotionally-draining training for the next Olympics.
That's when she was hit with another harsh reality: despite winning an Olympic medal, she had no work experience, no education and no way to make a living.
"I was devastated by failure, but I was also disappointed with success," she said.
Rousey turned to self-medicating with a mixture of drugs and alcohol, and lived out of her car. She let go of her past success, her family and any hope at a future. She stopped caring.
But then she saw MMA.
Watching the fighters on television, she was inspired by the thought that, given the chance to fight in the "Octagon," she could beat any woman in the world.
But there was another problem: there weren't any female MMA fighters.
"It's the most frustrating thing to be the best in the world at something and have no one believe you," she said.
She struggled to find a coach, and also to convince her mother that it would be a good way forward. But the champion kept on fighting.
Rousey eventually broke through the glass ceiling of MMA, and not only remains undefeated, but continues to break records left and right. In February, she submitted Cat Zingano in 14 seconds at UFC 184, breaking her former record of 16 seconds.
Now Rousey can add author to her resumé, right above being called the most dominant athlete alive by Sports Illustrated, ahead of people like LeBron James and Serena Williams. But Rousey isn't done yet.
Her determination means she constantly makes goals for herself. You can see that determination every time she enters the Octagon.
"It's strangely therapeutic in a way, to be so entirely in the present moment," she said.
She believes she stays on top because of advice her mother gave her: even after a win there is something to learn. That keeps her competition from catching up.
"I keep improving with every win," she said. "That's how I stay ahead"
