In the tradition of Wild and H Is for Hawk, an Outside magazine writer tells her story—of fathers and daughters, grief and renewal, adventure and obsession, and the power of running to change your life.
I’m running to forget, and to remember.
For more than a decade, Katie Arnold chased adventure around the world, reporting on extreme athletes who performed outlandish feats—walking high lines a thousand feet off the ground without a harness, or running one hundred miles through the night. She wrote her stories by living them, until eventually life on the thin edge of risk began to seem normal. After she married, Katie and her husband vowed to raise their daughters to be adventurous, too, in the mountains and canyons of New Mexico. But when her father died of cancer, she was forced to confront her own mortality.
His death was cataclysmic, unleashing a perfect storm of grief and anxiety. She and her father, an enigmatic photographer for National Geographic, had always been kindred spirits. He introduced her to the outdoors and took her camping and on bicycle trips and down rivers, and taught her to find solace and courage in the natural world. And it was he who encouraged her to run her first race when she was seven years old.
Now nearly paralyzed by fear and terrified she was dying, too, she turned to the thing that had always made her feel most alive: running. Over the course of three tumultuous years, she ran alone through the wilderness, logging longer and longer distances, first a 50-kilometer ultramarathon, then 50 miles, then 100 kilometers. She ran to heal her grief, to outpace her worry that she wouldn’t live to raise her own daughters. She ran to find strength in her weakness. She ran to remember and to forget. She ran to live.
Ultrarunning tests the limits of human endurance over seemingly inhuman distances, and as she clocked miles across mesas and mountains, Katie learned to tolerate pain and discomfort, and face her fears of uncertainty, vulnerability, and even death itself. As she ran, she found herself peeling back the layers of her relationship with her father, discovering that much of what she thought she knew about him, and her own past, was wrong.
Running Home is a memoir about the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of our world—the stories that hold us back, and the ones that set us free. Mesmerizing, transcendent, and deeply exhilarating, it is a book for anyone who has been knocked over by life, or feels the pull of something bigger and wilder within themselves.
Advance praise for Running Home
“A contemplative, soul-searching account of the death of [Katie Arnold’s] beloved father and how she used long-distance running as a way to heal from the grief.”—Kirkus Reviews
“A beautiful work of searching remembrance and searing honesty . . . will soon join such classics as Born to Run and Ultramarathon Man as quintessential reading of the genre.”—Hampton Sides, author of On Desperate Ground and Ghost Soldiers
I’m recommending this book to everyone. The best read in awhile. You don’t have to be a runner to get into this book. I mean, yes, she writes about her amazing ultra marathon runs, but that’s not what the heart of the book is about. It’s about love, loss, motherhood, and life. I want to share so many amazing quotes but they would be spoilers. JUST GO NOW AND READ THIS BOOK.
Can’t believe how many high ratings Goodreads reviewers have given this book. Very disappointing from someone who loves memoirs and loves running. First third of book had me interested but then author falls apart (in her life) and her writing style falls apart. I expect an ultra runner to be a self absorbed type and Katie Arnold is way self absorbed. Her grieving over her Dad leave her mother (hardly spoken about at all even though she raised her), her husband, and her two daughters in the dust. The last 100 pages were hard to gut through as it was like reading her running logs! I expect Arnold is a better journalist than this memoir would represent and believe her Editors could have helped shape this into something more readable. Her aimlessness in life and lack of appreciation for her gifts and blessings make me wish she would find Christ in her life (not Buddhist runners!?). If you want a good memoir- this is not one. If you want a good book on running- this is not one. Arnold may be better suited for magazine articles in Outside magazine. One of her daughters might write a good memoir about their life and how their pouty/self centered Mother effected their lives once they look back.
I felt like this author was speaking straight to my soul. Her words on mothering and anxiety spoke to my heart and had me constantly saying, “yes! This is so me.” So different from other books, I ended this book feeling inspired and fulfilled, whereas so many books make me crave wanting more. I cried my way through this entire book - not a bad cry, but a good, cathartic cry. This book inspired me to want to be a better daughter, a better wife, a better mother, and a better athlete.
This will be a book I’ll reflect on often and highlight the pages and read again and again to remind myself to just keep going.
You know when the right book hits you at just the right time? That was this book. I picked it up because it was about an ultra runner. That's my jam. What I wasn't expecting was for it to also be about: grief, motherhood, postpartum anxiety, writing, and finding peace. Well hot damn. I started this book right before going into labor, and finished in the week after giving birth. Despite my exhaustion from being a new mom, this book made me want to get out of bed and write. It also made me want to run, but I've got to wait a few more weeks for that... There were some other personal connections I had to this story that were probably just coincidences, but felt like signs. I can't really say more because #newmombrain but, dang.
I think this just might be the best book out there right now in the trail/ultra running space—especially for women. Katie is an incredibly gifted writer and thoughtfully documents her journey with running and the many forms it’s taken throughout her life.
I’m so inspired by this book. One of those reads where I was constantly highlighting quotes or jotting them down to remember for the future. My favorite memoir of the year!
“Some days I can no longer tell if running is madness or the clearest kind of sanity.”
I found Arnold's story to be so relatable and cathartic. It's not so much a book about running as it is a book about grief and growth. It's a book about reconciling the losses in life with hope for the future. The first part of the book is about Arnold's childhood and the loss of her father to cancer. The second part is about coping with anxiety, taking up ultrarunning at age 40 and riding her new passion to some impressive successes. For me, Arnold's story lost some of its traction in the second half. The writing about her races felt more mechanical, and the resolutions were somewhat forced. So a four-star read for me, but I still enjoyed the book throughout.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for my open and honest review.
This book is about more than running. Sure there is running. Katie is an Ultra Marathon runner, which is amazing. But this story is so much deeper than that. This story is about motherhood, power, your inner self, overcoming obstacles, and specifically mortality. Arnold's family turmoil and health scare send her for a loop. This is a difficult book for someone expecting all running, this is definitely not all running. But this is a cathartic book and a good read.
I expected this book to be a memoir about ultra running and yes, there is a lot of running in Katie Arnold’s Running Home—but this is really a book about life; running is just Arnold’s way of processing and coming to terms with, as she puts it, “the jolting, destablizing shocks” of her own life. Running may give Arnold’s book its energy and organizing theme, but her clear, beautifully candid reflections on death, doubt, fear and grief give it a beating heart.
The memoir is loosely organized in two parts. The first chronicles Arnold’s childhood and life before she made the leap to ultrarunning: her earliest memories of the breakdown of her parents’ marriage and her years of shuttling between their homes in New Jersey and rural Virginia with her older sister; her conflicted but loving relationship with her father, the spirit of adventure she inherited from him, and then his sudden cancer diagnosis and death; and the crippling bouts of postpartum anxiety and grief that followed. “There is never any end to the fears,” she writes. “The trick is to move toward them, not away. Running is as good a way as any to try.”
Armed with this resolve, Arnold shifts the second part of Running Home to her pursuit of ultrarunning—her physical and mental training for the grueling 50k, 50 mile, 100k amd 100 mile distances and the toll this takes on her body, her marriage and her family. This part of the book—and particularly Arnold’s riveting accounts of her first 50k race and her Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim run—was fascinating to me (whose idea of a long run is five miles) and gave me insight into what it takes to push your mind and body to their absolute limits. It’s worth noting here as well that, as you might expect from a former editor and writer at Outside magazine, there is beautiful nature writing throughout Running Home, but particularly so in this part of the book, when Arnold describes the scenery on her long mountain training runs.
Running Home is a book that will be relatable and appealing to so many people—runners, of course, but also children of divorce; those who have fought their own battles with anxiety; mothers trying to balance work and family life with their own passions; and those who have experienced the death of a loved one. (I lost my own beloved father to cancer the same year as Katie, and her descriptions of her grief were among the most viscerally relatable I’ve ever read.) The publisher’s blurb likened Running Home to Helen Macdonald’s H is for Hawk but, while I understand that comparison, it reminded me more of Hope Jahren’s memoir Lab Girl. I loved them all, though, so I’m happy to let it go at that.
Many thanks to Random House and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Recommended by my niece whose cautionary note was a warning that this book would make the reader want to run a marathon - and hug your parents. My marathon days are long gone but I am still fascinated by what motivates a person push their limits - in the author's case to compete in ultra marathons. I so wish I could hug my parents. A very thoughtful book that weaves grief into everyday life and memories that motivate one to keep on.
Drawn by the cover and an inside look at how someone becomes an ultra runner, I didn't expect a story about the author also dealing with the loss of her dad. A family member does this type of running and I recommended this excellent book to her and it was also interesting to learn how running helped the writer process grief. This would be of interest to anyone who enjoys running or to motivate a person to return to running; I loved it.
Ooooof did this book bring out all the raw emotions. Memories and grief have a way of resurfacing and the author wrote so authentically that I felt like I was reliving my own experiences of my dad’s illness from 12+ years ago. I also connected with the author on navigating the balancing act of motherhood, runner, and wife.
Fitting that I finished this book on a long run, shortly after hearing a hoot owl, which was one of my dad’s signature calls ❤️
The running part of this book starts around page 200 and even then it is a side story. This is really a story of a women who struggles with mental health on many levels. While she is unknowingly suffering through post-partem depression, her father gets sick and quickly dies of cancer. This leaves her unhinged, resulting in hypochondriac behaviours and some obsession/compulsion. This is when she finds running, as a way to control her whirling, grieving mind - first familiar distances and then ultra endurance distances. But even her running is wrought with compulsions and does not give her solace. I have run many of the same events as Arnold and I really did enjoy her descriptions of the Jemez Mountain 50km (which I ran one year prior to her) and the R2R2R. But I thought that the memoir was going to be about running and was highly disappointed that it was not the focus, as the title indicates. I endlessly skimmed over the pages and pages of her issues, trying to find mention of a trail or race or event related to running. These treasures were well told but far too few.
There were several thing I liked about this memoir, and a few that caused me to pause. While I am not a runner, I do have a desire to write. I had a great start on a book then stopped abruptly. Katie’s book has me reenergized....”Let it rip on the page, puke your guts out on paper, then sit.” And, “...I will have conditioned my mind to sit in a chair and write for hours, so when I’m 95 I won’t be talking wistfully about the novel I once wanted to write. I’ll have written it.” Thank you Katie!!
I have experienced grief, anxiety, depression, motherhood, etc. my faith in God helped, and continues to help me tremendously. I sensed that Katie was looking for a source of help and comfort , but instead found other beliefs/outlets that, in my opinion, left her searching.
Running home is a beautiful memoir about how a woman takes up running to feel alive and overcome her grief of losing a parent.
Katie Arnold is introduced to adventures and the outdoors through her dad who is a photographer for the National Geographic. After her marriage and motherhood, Katie ensures that she exposes her daughters to the outdoors too.
However when her father loses his battle to cancer, Katie is plunged with post traumatic stress disorder and begins to question her own mortality.
In order to overcome her anxiety and grief, Katie seeks solace in nature and running- a sport that her father introduced to her when she was 7 years old. Katie starts with an ultra marathon distance of 50 km, 50 miles and then 100 km amidst those mountainous trails and wilderness.
As she clocks those miles which tests her endurance, Katie slowly learns to overcome her grief, pain and anxiety. In the meanwhile, she traces back her relationship with her father through some old letters and ultimately gains peace.
Written in a poignant and moving manner, themes of grief, loss, parenting and healing are touched upon here.
This memoir showcases how running as a sport can change lives. It gives a beautiful message of how one can find ways to stay alive in a meaningful manner. It also stresses on the aspect of finding a balance between parenting and running.
Running Home is book that will resonate with every runner especially those who run those inhuman distances. It is also bound to strike a chord with nature and adventure enthusiasts.
I loved this book. I started it thinking it was a runner’s memoir, but instead found that it was an excellent commentary on grief, living, dying, mothering, loving, finding peace and the drive to run. I related so much to Katie’s story of running to deal with the grief of losing her father. Through running, she gained clarity to tell her story of healing and coming to terms with loss. Very well-written and engaging.
I don’t normally give autobiographies five stars because how the author chooses to portray their life Is subjective and it doesn’t feel right offering an opinion on how they choose to do it. But this book spoke to me so thoroughly, I felt that it was written just for me. I think I’ve highlighted the entire thing and I wanna re-read it every month. She writes so poignantly and beautifully that you know she’s pouring her soul out on those pages and leaving nothing behind.
This is not simply a “running memoir.” Yes, running is a critical component of her life, but the book is built around her father’s death from cancer and the grief and reflection that surrounded this loss. Katie Arnold has a gift for telling a story in a way that captures emotional nuances in a way that had me dogearing pages and thinking “oh, yes, that.” Running Home is beautifully written.
Katie has made headlines as a winner of ultra marathons and a 100 mile race in 2018. I read an interview she gave Runner's World and was interested in reading more so I picked up her memoir. A lot of the book was focused on her memories growing up with divorced parents and working through that pain which I wasn't expecting, but it is a memoir. Her coming to terms with her dad was very poignant and brought me to tears. She didn't talk as much about running as I would have expected. It was more a tug of war between how she balanced her feelings and her home life with running. In the end I absolutely get that because running is much more about the mental aspect than the physical. Some things were kinda ridiculous, like how she "accidentally" ran her first marathon. But I really liked how she explained how she got into ultra running. 3.5 stars, overall I enjoyed it just not what I expected. Her internal monologue is a little whiny but I guess mine probably is too LOL
I thoroughly enjoyed this inspiring memoir which was so much more than a memoir. Katie Arnold was 2 when her parents divorced. Her mother remarried and they moved to New Jersey where Katie and her older sister Meg had to juggle back and forth with visitation with their father in Virginia. After college, Katie got a job at Outsider magazine in Santa Fe, NM, married her husband there and had two daughters. After the birth of her second daughter, her father died of cancer and Katie sunk into deep depression and anxiety. Katie used ultra running to deal with his death and grief, and ran an ultramarathon. This book is so inspirational in how it deals with loss and anxiety caused by the death of a loved one. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC of this wonderful book.
I received Running Home as a PRC from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.
Writer and ultramarathoner Katie Arnold's memoir is a tribute to her father, who sparked her interest in running. Although her parents separated when Arnold was a child, her father had a prominent role in her life. After he died, she developed severe, debilitating anxiety. She returned to running as a way to manage her symptoms.
For the first part of Running Home, there is very little about running and I started to wonder if this was a running book at all! But as the book progresses, there is plenty of running. There is also a great deal of introspection. The book is beautifully written. Arnold has a true gift for writing and storytelling. This is a beautiful read.
I don’t know who recommended this book or how it ended up on my TBR list. On its face there is nothing that would appeal to me — a memoir, by a mother, about running. And ultra-distance running, no less. Even so, the writer’s voice is so compelling and she is so effective at delving into thoughtful subjects that I really enjoyed the book. (Author is also the reader.). The reflections on her father’s life and death are certainly different than my own but the book allowed me to poke at some of my own feelings and recollections without being overwhelmed. My heart swelled for her when she accomplished Hard Things, and broke for her when she reflected about being a less-than-ideal partner to her husband. Tie up your laces and settle in, it’s worth the read/listen! 🎧
This is without a doubt the best running book I’ve ever read. I stayed up way too late last night and tonight inhaling it. I wish it was ten times longer so I could enjoy it for longer.
Katie Arnold both completely understands and can articulate beautifully all the feelings that both cause people to embrace long-distance running and are stirred up by the running. Running can be beautiful and it can be agonizing, the best thing and the worst thing you can do. But most of all running is freeing.
About half of this book is about her ultra-running journey and the other half is about dealing with the impending, then actual, loss of her father. She processes her complicated feelings about her father through her running, and comes out a wiser, more complete person on the other side. Because of running.
I don’t know who I would be or where I would be in life without running, and anyone who feels the same way will appreciate this beautifully written, searingly honest memoir.
I liked reading this book because I felt seen as a long distance runner. She discusses the mental space, the importance of meditation for her running (which is super important for me), the strife of injuries, the sublime state of reaching flow, and overall loved being reminded on what it means to run. To run for yourself, and not for anything else.
Wow. This memoir was phenomenal. The writing sucked me in from the beginning. Katie’s voice is strong and eloquent, and the way she writes about running and nature moved me deeply. This is a must read.
I love this memoir. It has all my favorite things: running, relationships with fathers, sisters, children, depictions of the outdoors... Very well written, touching, and insightful.
A lovely memoir for runners and non-runners alike. The big themes of the book - grief, anxiety, motherhood, love - intertwine and unfold with the author's thoughts on running in a really gorgeous way. One to read slowly, I think.
I thoroughly enjoyed this! Katie is a gifted writer. I felt as if I were in the Santa Fe mountains with her. It was inspiring and made me want to go for a run, just for the sheer pleasure of it. Personally, I do not agree with her more Buddhist way of thought when it comes to the body, the mind, and the world. However, I still greatly enjoyed this. It's the story of her life and dealing with grief and trauma through running. It was very well written. *Gasp* I loved it more than the infamous "Born To Run"! :)
Love to read about running. Nothing makes me want to run more than reading about running! This was a great read! Inspiring and motivating! Now....time to train for an ultra!! :)