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412 reviews for:
What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen
Kate Fagan
4.2 AVERAGE
412 reviews for:
What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen
Kate Fagan
4.2 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
There were good takeaways about the pressures high-achieving young people face these days, but I think what will stick with me here is Maddy's story. I have some personal connections to the topic of suicide/mental health struggles, so this hit me really hard.
An amazing exploration of Gen Z, mental illness, troubles transitioning to college, social media, communication (and the lack of true connection), and sports. I can’t wait to discuss with my students in November.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Madison’s story is unfortunately extremely relevant 6 years after its publication. I appreciated many aspects of this story’s writing especially the insights from so many people in her life, but overall this could have used another round of editing and tightening up — a lot of redundancies and lack of transitioning between ideas.
However, I still found this to be a very important and even necessary read for college-aged individuals as it explored empathy and mental illness in a really interesting and nuanced way.
However, I still found this to be a very important and even necessary read for college-aged individuals as it explored empathy and mental illness in a really interesting and nuanced way.
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
This is an important piece of journalism that is well-researched and carefully told. However, I recommend the print book. The audio was awful; the audio reader didn’t understand punctuation and how it affects verbal pauses.
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
This book was heartbreaking to read, but also incredibly important as an educator, parent, and community member. Fagan does an excellent job showing the pressures do college athletics and how it affects its young athletes and their mental health. Maddy’s story is devastating to read because she had a supportive family, successful athletics, and a lot of friends who reached out daily. But as the author demonstrates, the bridge to college makes it challenging to diagnose changes in someone when no one there knows the before personality or demeanor. I also really loved the research that shows how extrinsic goals and pressures are affecting America’s youth in a negative way. Reading Maddy’s story changed me, and I am glad I read it. I have seen teachers using it as a full-class text, but I don’t think I would do that. I did mark some important passages to share.
emotional
sad
This book was an important read for me and will be for so many others. Kate Fagan provides a look into Madison Holleran's short life, but also insight into the minds of those who suffer from depression and other mental health issues. Fagan also had important commentary about social media, digital vs. real life and how it allows us to control our own message, though we may be feeling something different. I rated it five stars, not because of the writing, but really because of the message. I learned so much from this book and know I'll be thinking about its message, and Madison, for a long time.