Mothers and daughters, coaches and players, athletic vs. academic cultures: Go-to Girl provides a portrait of student-athlete J.J. Gearhart as she navigates life at an elite school. One of the first female athletics scholarship recipients at Stanford University, J.J.'s ambitions are simple: she wants an Olympic volleyball career and a medical school degree. She hopes to find a cure for her mother's mysterious autoimmune illness before her Mama Jo dies. A heroine's journey full of obstacles, Go-to Girl: Digs, Dives and a Golden Spike celebrates the strange and magical culture of 1980s Stanford University, as Gearhart learns that life is not about finding herself; it's about creating a self, full of purpose and joy.