people.com - Around this time last year, Gabby Douglas dropped a bomb on her coaches and family: She wanted to quit gymnastics – and maybe try getting a job at Chick-fil-A.



"What," she says now, "was I thinking?"

Of course, she didn't. And the rest is history.

Four months after becoming the first black woman ever to win Olympic gold in individual all-around gymnastics, Douglas, 16, is looking back on her magical year – one that includes a new memoir Grace, Gold, & Glory: My Leap of Faith, to be published Dec. 4, and excerpted exclusively in PEOPLE this week. Read more