Brittney Griner Announces Memoir About Imprisonment in Russia

The Mercury star was wrongfully detained in Russia from February to December of2022.

Mercury star Brittney Griner will share the story of her detainment in Russia by writing a book this year, she announced Tuesday.

Griner was detained in a Russian airport in February 2022 after officials claimed that she had hashish oil in her luggage. In July, she pleaded guilty but stated that she did not intend to break the law. On August 4, she was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony after a monthlong trial. After a 10-month ordeal, Griner came home in December in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Griner will work with the Alfred A. Knopf publishing company on her memoir, which currently does not have an official title.

“That day [in February] was the beginning of an unfathomable period in my life which only now am I ready to share,” Griner said, via the Associated Press. “The primary reason I traveled back to Russia for work that day was because I wanted to make my wife, family, and teammates proud. After an incredibly challenging 10 months in detainment, I am grateful to have been rescued and to be home. Readers will hear my story and understand why I’m so thankful for the outpouring of support from people across the world.”

Knopf added how Griner will detail her experience “navigating the byzantine Russian legal system in a language she did not speak.”

“Griner also describes her stark and surreal time living in a foreign prison and the terrifying aspects of day-to-day life in a women’s penal colony,” Knopf’s announcement read. “At the heart of the book, Griner highlights the personal turmoil she experienced during the near ten-month ordeal and the resilience that carried her through to the day of her return to the United States last December.”

Griner hopes that the book will shed light on other detained Americans overseas, including corporate security executive Paul Whelan, whose own detainment led some to question why he wasn’t included in the prisoner swap for Griner in December. 

Griner will return to the WNBA court this season, as she announced her intention to play back in December.