An alien arrives on Earth with a mission to kill several people who may hold a world-changing secret. What he discovers will change his life and thoseAn alien arrives on Earth with a mission to kill several people who may hold a world-changing secret. What he discovers will change his life and those of the humans he learns to love. This book explores what it means to be human, ranging all across the spectrum from violence against oneself and others to selfless bravery, kindness, and affection. Heavy at times, Matt Haig's "The Humans" is ultimately uplifting, giving readers a new perspective from which to consider what they value about life and how to enjoy their brief time on Earth more fully....more
Built around a memorable Boston Marathon win, Des Linden’s new memoir “Choosing to Run” (co-written with Bonnie D. Ford) skillfully examines how a quiBuilt around a memorable Boston Marathon win, Des Linden’s new memoir “Choosing to Run” (co-written with Bonnie D. Ford) skillfully examines how a quick young phenom became a distance demon who thrives under the toughest conditions.
Chapters set throughout the book gloriously detail Linden's 2018 Boston victory, when powerful headwinds, biting cold and heavy rain sent some runners home with a DNF and others to the medical tent with hypothermia.
The delights of reading how this tough-minded Michigander won Boston in a downpour are matched by “the rest of the story.” Writing with honesty and energy, Linden shares the life experiences that shaped her determination to rise to the top of her sport.
The challenges include a near-miss in Boston in 2011, when she lost a classic Boylston Street battle to finish second by a few strides, and a decision to pull out of the London Olympics marathon due to what turned out to be a broken femur.
In 2017, Linden experienced fatigue and depression due to a failing thyroid gland. The break in training as she adjusted to new medications sent her to that tough Boston course in 2018 unsure whether she was fit to race 26.2 miles. Linden’s detailed description of that race is a highlight of “Choosing to Run.”
Linden’s forthright style makes her a powerful narrator. In the very first chapter, titled “The Outsider,” she talks about how her father signed up Des and her sister to play sports year-round “so that we’d be too busy to get into trouble.”
Playing team sports she didn’t enjoy, too aware of what she calls “the political crap” that rewards the rich, Linden was in seventh grade when she discovered running. She thrived in an atmosphere that rewards hard work with wins. “I realized that running could be my ticket to escape his scrutiny, his temper, and ultimately, his home,” she writes about her father.
Runner-readers will enjoy Linden’s insights into coaches Kevin and Keith Hanson and their Original Distance Project; athletes Shalane Flanagan, Joan Benoit Samuelson and Amy Cragg; and agent Josh Cox.
Linden also talks about outside interests, including dogs, coffee, whiskey and travel. A voracious reader, she quotes Joan Didion and other writers she reveres. And she sings the praises of husband Ryan Linden, sister Natalie, physiotherapist John Ball and a handful of others, the stalwart crew who have supported her long career.
Linden, who currently holds the 50K world record (2:59:54), will continue to be influential in the sport she loves, and this memoir is well worth reading to understand why.
“No one else was going to tell me when I was done. No one was going to tell me I was out of chances, or that I had no shot at improvement, or that it was someone else’s turn. Maybe tomorrow would be better. And if not, maybe the next day. I’d never know if I didn’t get out the door and give myself a chance.” ...more
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