Carli Lloyd admits in autobiography that she has separated from her family

No one expected the Delran native to be anything less than her usual forthright self, especially since the title of the book is When Nobody Was Watching. And if the excerpt is any indication, Lloyd's words live up to the hype.

SI's excerpt highlights two specific, never-before-told (at least publicly, as far as anyone can tell) storylines.

One details how Lloyd forged her longtime friendship with U.S. national team goalkeeper Hope Solo. The other is a deeply personal reflection on Lloyd's separation from her family over the course of her professional career, including some anecdotes explaining how it happened.

Here are some samples of Lloyd's writing on the latter subject:

For years my father has regarded James [Galanis, her longtime personal trainer] as all but a soccer messiah, but as I become more independent and start to make my own decisions, he begins to shift his viewpoint. My parents believe James is coming between us and they hold him responsible for my becoming an outcast in the mess that came out of World Cup 2007. As much love and gratitude as I have for my parents, I also believe all this unrest is not doing me any good. Every day I'm home it feels as if I'm tiptoeing through a minefield. I never know when someone will go off.

I'm doing better than I ever have with the national team, but the discord at home weighs on me constantly. I make it a point not to spend too much time there. When I'm on breaks, I stay with friends or with my boyfriend, Brian Hollins, and that becomes a point of contention too.

[...]

I return to Jersey for a few weeks before I begin final preparations for my first Olympic Games. One night when I am out, I call home and my father answers. He starts right in on me. I don't want to hear it.

"You never want to hear it," he says. "Why don't you get your stuff out of the house or I will throw it out the window?" I can't believe it has reached this point. But true to stubborn form, I don't back down.

"If that's how you want it, fine," I say.

[...]

When my father had open-heart surgery, nobody told me until well afterward. When my sister got married, I was not invited. I love my family and would like nothing more than to reconcile with them. Nobody has done more for me than my parents, who devoted untold amounts of time and money that allowed me to play the game I love. It's no exaggeration to say I never would have gotten anywhere near a World Cup, an Olympics or even the U.S. national team without them. I have never forgotten that, and I never will.

I have missed sharing all these things with them, but I hope that will one day change.

Lloyd will kick off a book tour on Saturday in New York. Her stop in the Philadelphia region (and so far it's the only one) will be at the Barnes and Noble in Cherry Hill next Thursday, Sept. 29.

Tickets are not required, but I would imagine that it will be quite a scene.

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