A former Olympic athlete and high-end escort reveals her struggles with manic depression, exploring how mental illness both drove her competitively and painfully challenged her personal life.

"From an Olympic medalist runner and the record-holder in the women's marathon and half-marathon, a lyrical, inspirational memoir on how harnessing the power of the mind can unlock hidden potential. Deena Kastor was a star youth runner with tremendous promise, yet her career almost ended after college. Her competitive method--run as hard as possible, all the time--brought her to the brink of burnout and fostered a frustration and negativity that threatened...

"At once inspiring, hilarious, and honest, the new book from Alexandra Heminsley chronicles her endeavor to tackle a whole new element, and the ensuing challenges and joys of open water swimming."--Jacket flap.

"Fueled by her years as an elite runner and advocate for women in sports, Lauren Fleshman offers her inspiring personal story and a rallying cry for reform of a sports landscape that is failing young female athletes Lauren Fleshman has grown up in the world of running: one of the most decorated collegiate athletes of all time and a national champion as a pro, she was a major face of women's running for Nike before leaving to shake up the industry...

"Wilma was born into a family with 22 brothers and sisters, in the segregated South. She contracted polio in her early years and her doctors said she would never walk again. But Wilma persisted with treatment, and she recovered her strength by the age of 12. At school, Wilma showed a talent for basketball and sprinting, earning the nickname "Skeeter" (mosquito) as she ran so fast. Wilma was in college when she went to the 1960 Olympics. She not only...

"The inspiring and irresistible true story of the women who broke barriers and finish-line ribbons in pursuit of Olympic Gold When Betty Robinson assumed the starting position at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, she was participating in what was only her fourth-ever organized track meet. She crossed the finish line as a gold medalist and the fastest woman in the world. This improbable athletic phenom was an ordinary high school student, discovered...

Kathrine Switzer changed the world of running. This narrative biography follows Kathrine from running laps as a girl in her backyard to becoming the first woman to run the Boston Marathon with official race numbers in 1967. Her inspirational true story is for anyone willing to challenge the rules. The compelling collage art adds to the kinetic action of the story. With tension and heart, this biography has the influential power to get readers into...

"The incredible story of a young woman living with ALS, who defies all odds by finishing fifty marathons and, in turn, inspires people to "go on, be brave." Andrea Lytle Peet was thirty-three years old - an urban planner living in D.C., newly married, and a triathlete - when she received the death sentence of an ALS diagnosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease). After grappling with the fact that she will likely become paralyzed and die within two...

When “Renaissance runner” (New York Times) Alexi Pappas—Olympic athlete, actress, filmmaker, and writer—was four years old, her mother died by suicide, drastically altering the course of Pappas’s life and setting her on a search for female role models. When her father signed his bereaved daughter up for sports teams as a way to keep her busy, female athletes became the first women Pappas looked up to, and her Olympic dream was born. At the...

"What fears are standing in your way or holding you back? How do you want to become stronger? Olympic and World champion hurdler Sydney McLaughlin wants to help you answer these questions as she shares her personal story of struggles and victories, of faith and transformation. Sydney McLaughlin knows about facing down obstacles. She has mastered not only racing over hurdles on the track but also tackling challenges in her personal life-from lifelong...