Review : Running for My Life - Rachel Cullen

The Very Pink Notebook is thrilled to share the review of 

Running for my Life

By runner and author Rachel Cullen

With thanks to Beth at Blink Publishing for an advance copy of the book

Published by : Blink Publishing

11 January 2018

Copy : Paperback received from publisher

The Blurb

Throughout her life, Rachel Cullen followed a simple yet effective route straight to mental health misery. Suffering from bipolar disorder, and hungry for approval at any price, she settled for flunked relationships, an ill-fitting career, and poor health to match. Whilst mindlessly seeking a utopian vision of 'normality' that she was mis-sold and so desperate to achieve, the solution seemed increasingly illusive.

Stuck in this endless cycle of disappointment with her life, and not knowing how to handle the strain of her mental illness, she put on a pair of old trainers. She'd never been able to think of herself as a 'runner', and the first time she forced herself out the door, she knew it would hurt. Everywhere. She just didn't realise how much it would heal her, too.Interspersed with Rachel's real diary entries, from tortuous teen years to eventually running the London Marathon, Running for my Life will make you laugh, cry and question whether you can really outrun your demons.

The Very Pink Notebook Review

Running for my Life is a rich, colourful and brutally honest account of one women's fight to beat her mental health demons.  Written with candid details and dark humour this book is a journey about a quest to live life in the happiest and healthiest way possible.  Chronicling all the ups and downs, the good, the bad and the downright ugly along the way.

With fantastic ditties remembering fashion disasters from her youth to the very same in winter races, the author, Rachel Cullen, lays bare the realities that subsequently have taken her on a long battle with mental health.  A fight against herself.  We read about what she thinks her life should be, to the realisation; life is never like what you think it is going to be.  Whether in love or careers and that sometimes you just have to accept your imperfections.

What I found interesting with this life journey was Rachel seemingly did everything 'right'.  But, when she thought about it - right for who?  Not herself.  And she had to find the strength to admit she had come to this realisation - which thankfully, she did.

The constant throughout the ever changing life Rachel?  Running.  Of course.  In this, she found her solace, her soul-mate, her companion.  Even when she felt it had all gone wrong (which in several incidences, it had).  Whatever happened with running she always found herself going back for more and in doing so realised she had so many more capabilities and more strength than she ever knew.  And thus, some confidence was born, confidence in herself, in her worth.

And once you have that, life becomes that little bit easier and at some point you feel you can reflect and in this case, a book was born. 

Running for my Life, the journey of Rachel Cullen, receives a well deserved Very Pink Notebook :

 

Review : This Mum Runs by Jo Pavey

Published by : Yellow Jersey Press

14 July 2016

Copy : Hardback - Borrowed from Library

The Blurb

The inspirational story of athlete Jo Pavey, the runner and mum who ran at a record-breaking fifth Olympic Games at Rio 2016.

'Come-back races? I've had more than a few, the night of 10 May 2014 was the ultimate long shot. I was a forty-year-old mother of two who had given birth eight months before. I trained on a treadmill in a cupboard by the back door and I was wearing a running vest older than most of the girls I was competing against. Was I crazy?'

Jo Pavey was forty years old when she won the 10,000m at the European Championships. It was the first gold medal of her career and, astonishingly, it came within months of having her second child.

The media dubbed her ‘Supermum’, but Jo’s story is in many ways the same as every mother juggling the demands of working life with a family – the sleepless nights, the endless nappy changing, the fun, the laughter and the school-run chaos. The only difference is that Jo is a full-time athlete pushing a buggy on her training runs, clocking up miles on the treadmill in a cupboard while her daughter has her lunchtime nap, and hitting the track while her children picnic on the grass.

Heartwarming and uplifting, This Mum Runs follows Jo’s roundabout journey to the top and all the lessons she's learnt along the way. It is the inspiring yet everyday story of a mum that runs and a runner that mums.

The Very Pink Notebook Review

I love to read an autobiography. I love how a book neatly summarises the chaos that is somebodies life, the highs, the lows, the achievements.  When it comes to reading autobiographies of athletes, I think there have been mixed success, too many times I have read what could literally be a statistics book strung out over 200 pages.  Jo Pavey's 'This Mum Runs' is not one of those books however.

From the very first page it is written with the same gentle humility that Jo Pavey has become renowned for and this continues consistently right to the last chapter.  It is well structured and although, yes, it has a few snapshots of statistics about races and athletics, it is more over about Jo Pavey as an all round person - being a elite athlete is merely her day job.

The important thing here is that this particular athlete actually has a very interesting story to tell.  We all love to hear the inspiration behind anyone who is the top of their game in any field, be it athletics or not, but to be honest sometimes even though they are the best at what they do, it just hasn't been a very interesting journey to get there, thus it shows in the autobiography.

In this book however, we are given a great insight into what makes this person, Jo Pavey, who she is; a mother, wife, an elite athlete - and what makes her world tick.  The life events of Jo are worth reading about and make for a great story to tell.  This autobiography does not shy away from real life, blinding the reader with just the bare bones about athletics which becomes slightly dull, it is honest, it is humorous and it is enjoyable.

This Mum Runs by Jo Pavey receives a Very Pink Notebook - Highly Recommend - rating of :