In a 20/20 segment last night, former Olympic gymnast Dominique Moceanu talked about the story behind her just released memoir "Off Balance." America was obsessed with Moceanu in the latter half of the 1990s after she won a gold medal in the Atlanta Olympics. Moceanu, a petite powerhouse, won the hearts of Americans with her flawless and feisty presentations.  She had a style of her own, appeared to glide on the balance beam and her spunky floor exercise routine coupled with a killer smile won over the media.

But as she tells it, all of that belied her difficult family life. Her father was controlling and prone to violent tempers while her mother was a helpless victim of her father's ways. At the age of 17, she sued for legal emancipation from her parents to get access to her professional earnings and to prevent her father from spending the money. Allegedly, in addition to the abuse her father inflicted on his family, he spent a substantial amount of the money Moceanu made through endorsement deals. Her father also forced his wife to give up a daughter that Moceanu did not know about until she was an adult.  

That is the real shocker of the book.

Her parents gave up her sister who was born without legs because her father claimed that they didn't have the money to take care of her. She was born a day after Moceanu's sixth birthday.  Now reunited with her sister and sharing a special bond, Moceanu talks about the uncanny resemblances they share. Aside from similar features, voices and even handwriting, Moceanu says she and her sister had something else in common.  Both share a gift for athleticism and acrobatic agility.  Her sister, Jennifer, is a fearless acrobat who thrived as a child after being adopted into a loving family. 

Simon & Schuster, publisher of the book says of the memoir, "will touch anyone who has ever dared to dream of a better life."