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A Life Spent Running from Madness
Dey Street Books
September 2015
On Sale: September 14, 2015
304 pages ISBN: 0062346229 EAN: 9780062346223 Kindle: B00NLM9D3Y Hardcover / e-Book
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Non-Fiction Memoir
The former middle distance Olympic runner and high-end
escort speaks out for the first time about her battle with
mental illness, and how mania controlled and compelled her
in competition, but also in life. This is a heartbreakingly
honest yet hopeful memoir reminiscent of Manic,
Electroboy, and An Unquiet Mind. During
the 1990s, three-time Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton was the
darling of American track and field. An outstanding runner,
a major sports apparel spokesperson, and a happily married
wife, she was the model for an active, healthy, and
wholesome life. But her perfect facade masked a dark truth:
manic depression and bipolar disorder that drove her
obsession to perform and win. For years after leaving the
track, Suzy wrestled with her condition, as well as the loss
of a close friend, conflicted feelings about motherhood and
her marriage, and lingering shame about her athletic career.
After a misdiagnosis and a recommendation for medication
that only exacerbated her mania and made her hypersexual,
Suzy embarked on a new path, and assumed a new identity.
Fueled by a newfound confidence, a feeling of strength and
independence and a desire she couldn’t tamp down, she became
a high-priced escort in Las Vegas, working as
“Kelly.” But Suzy could not keep her double life a
secret forever. When it was eventually exposed, it sent her
into a reckless suicidal period where the only option seemed
out. Finally, with the help of her devoted husband, Suzy
finally got the proper medical help she needed. In this
startling frank memoir, she recounts the journey to outrun
her demons, revealing how a woman used to physically
controlling her body learned to come to terms with her
unstable mind. It is the story of a how a supreme competitor
scored her most important victory of all—reclaiming her life
from the ravages of an untreated mental illness. Today,
thanks to diagnosis, therapy, Kelly has stepped into the
shadows, but Suzy is building a better life, one day at a
time. Sharing her story, Suzy is determined to raise
awareness, provide understanding, and offer inspiration to
others coping with their own challenges.
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