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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
There were definitely some parts of this book that I didn't totally love because it felt "boring" because it was statistics upon statistics however, the overall feel of the book was incredible. I was emotional reading how Maddy passed away and what led her to that point. This book was eye opening for me, especially when it comes to warning signs.
I picked this book up from the library knowing nothing about it. Except the inside flap "appealed" to me. It is difficult to say that a book about suicide and the mental illness problem in the United States is appealing....but because I struggle with my own mental illness battles (and I'm a Psychology minor) I wanted to read the book.
Maddy's story is a sad one but not surprising either. We are driving athletes to perfection. We demand them to focus on their on-field performance and don't care about much else. We also are afraid to talk about mental illness. I can only imagine how difficult it is for athletes when success is glory is what gives you the win. Mental illness is not glory....it sucks.
Kate Fagan, in my opinion, did her best to do justice to Maddy's story. I did not think the writing style was always amazing. In fact, I thought it was quite poor sometimes. Her "personal experiences" occasionally were out of place but I do get why they were there--other people understand the thoughts that took place in Maddy's head.
This book doesn't give answers. I felt like every conclusion was an obvious one. And no changes were proposed either. So the reader almost felt as if we were rehashing pain for no apparent reason. Yet I did figure out the reason....eventually. Maddy's story deserves to be told (and in greater detail than a ESPNw article). Other athletes need to know they are not alone. Other PEOPLE need to know they are not alone. But I also hope this book gets people angry enough to start making changes. We do have a problem in this country. It's bad everywhere and REALLY bad on college campuses. Let's stop with the stigma and start doing something.
Maddy's story is a sad one but not surprising either. We are driving athletes to perfection. We demand them to focus on their on-field performance and don't care about much else. We also are afraid to talk about mental illness. I can only imagine how difficult it is for athletes when success is glory is what gives you the win. Mental illness is not glory....it sucks.
Kate Fagan, in my opinion, did her best to do justice to Maddy's story. I did not think the writing style was always amazing. In fact, I thought it was quite poor sometimes. Her "personal experiences" occasionally were out of place but I do get why they were there--other people understand the thoughts that took place in Maddy's head.
This book doesn't give answers. I felt like every conclusion was an obvious one. And no changes were proposed either. So the reader almost felt as if we were rehashing pain for no apparent reason. Yet I did figure out the reason....eventually. Maddy's story deserves to be told (and in greater detail than a ESPNw article). Other athletes need to know they are not alone. Other PEOPLE need to know they are not alone. But I also hope this book gets people angry enough to start making changes. We do have a problem in this country. It's bad everywhere and REALLY bad on college campuses. Let's stop with the stigma and start doing something.
Raw, real, and a must read for parents and high school or college students.
The way Madison’s narrative is woven with details of cultural issues regarding social media, high expectations for children and ourselves, and a lack of understanding of mental health problems makes this book very powerful. I think many will find this book helpful and useful- although, after finishing, it takes time to separate from her story. Before reading this, I knew her journey well, yet I still had hope that Maddy would find an alternative ending. A must read for young adults especially.
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Should have stayed as an ESPN article.
Had potential to provide insight on student athletes but it fell flat in its execution. It didn't seem like Maddy had much depth to her, probably because she was young and kept a lot of her problems to herself. Fagan has to fill in the gaps and chose to write about her own experiences as a D1 athlete and as a writer doing background research. Fagan's chapters was unnecessary fluff and could have been substituted by more discussions of college athletes or even professional athletes with depression.
Had potential to provide insight on student athletes but it fell flat in its execution. It didn't seem like Maddy had much depth to her, probably because she was young and kept a lot of her problems to herself. Fagan has to fill in the gaps and chose to write about her own experiences as a D1 athlete and as a writer doing background research. Fagan's chapters was unnecessary fluff and could have been substituted by more discussions of college athletes or even professional athletes with depression.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
A beautifully written book on such an important topic. I devoured this book and kept wanting to know more about Maddy. However, the book lacked significant insight into the whole person she was. I didn’t like how the author intertwined her story into the book because this was supposed to be about Maddy. I respect and appreciate the author’s input about the pressure she felt as a D1 athlete, but it strayed too far off topic. Additionally, I think it led to lots of assumptions on how she thought Maddy was feeling. So much projecting. Moreover, I think there was entirely too much emphasis on the impact of social media and didn’t even cover other important topics like binge drinking in college and perfectionism. Alcohol is a depressant and Maddy’s drinking was glossed over and deemed normal, like it was nothing. I would love to know more about Maddy’s relationships because it would give more insight into what she was going through. There was just a few sentences in the end about an ex-boyfriend seeing a sign. Who was this boyfriend?! What was the dynamic? I guess overall it lacked depth. I want to hear about the therapy session Maddy’s dad sat in when she stated she had suicidal ideations. I want to hear more about if her older sister tried talking her out of Penn and/or why it would be different for her. I want to hear how her loved ones coped. I was left wanting more. Regardless, I think this is an important story that parents, educators, coaches, athletes, and teens should read.
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced