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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
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
If you look only through the lens of social media, it's hard too fathom why someone like Maddy Hollerman would take her own life. She appeared to have it all- brains, talent, friends, family, beauty. Kate Fagan delves into the all too short life of Maddy, into the pressure put on young athletes, how social media is affecting mental health. It's a hard book to read, because it's too late to save Maddy, but hopefully her story can help save other lives.
Leaving the crisis number for anyone who might need it: 1-800-273-8255 or text "Start" to 741-741.
Leaving the crisis number for anyone who might need it: 1-800-273-8255 or text "Start" to 741-741.
This book was beautifully written and so utterly sad. I learned so much about our youth, how social media affects our lives and how suicide truly changes those who are left behind.
This book is heartbreaking. Mental illness is a very real, and painful thing. More stories like this need to be told.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
This is tough.
The wonderful thing about this book is that it puts depression and suicide issue to the forefront. Discussing it can only help normalize conversations about mental health, which is sorely needed, and lead us to better paths to discuss hard topics like life-ending thoughts. Let us push ourselves to be more open and to listen.
Maddy's story deserves to be told, and her memory at least serves as a reminder that mental health strikes in places and people we don't suspect.
My issue with this book is how Fagan negotiates it. I'm not entirely convinced of Fagan's social media argument. Yes, American culture prizes early achievement and seemingly life-defining early choices of colleges. And, yes, college athletes and other pressured college students--of whom many are not mature enough in their brain development to truly grasp the long term in favor of the short term--suffer from busy schedules, exhaustion, feelings that quitting shows life-altering weakness, and unhealthy goal/metric fixation. These two factors contributed greatly to Maddy's health. Social media has not been yet determined to be a creator of severe anxiety or depression. Sure, social media could be a contributing factor but how much has not been determined. It could be just as well that those who suffer from depression are more inclined to suffer from creative thinking about other's perfection in real life (friend cliques, classmates, family, etc.) as well as in social media.
Also, Fagan has a matter of relatability here. Yes, Fagan went under many pressures in her life, collegiate and adult, but they are not as acute as Maddy's were. I think adding Fagan's own life as a comparison was a not a good choice. A difficult break up in juxtaposition of months of seemingly bewildering depression that leads one to--in the end--decide that reaching out is not the answer does not help define the experience of depression. We have all had anxiety and breakups. And when one is trying to speak out for special experiences, like Maddy had, and make us understand them, using comparisons that are of the norm do not help us understand how to empathize any closer to expressions of anxiety or depression. Yes, metaphors and analogies are essential to understanding deep things. But isn't the problem concerning mental health that un-depressed people think that their lows are comparable to those who suffer depression? Isn't that the thing to explain away?
These are the only issues I have with the book. It is a tragic heart-rending account. There are many really good insights into this situation that I hope has helped people heal and be more thoughtfully transparent and vulnerable. For we live in a society that prizes made up goals of elitism instead of prizing plain old good living.
The wonderful thing about this book is that it puts depression and suicide issue to the forefront. Discussing it can only help normalize conversations about mental health, which is sorely needed, and lead us to better paths to discuss hard topics like life-ending thoughts. Let us push ourselves to be more open and to listen.
Maddy's story deserves to be told, and her memory at least serves as a reminder that mental health strikes in places and people we don't suspect.
My issue with this book is how Fagan negotiates it. I'm not entirely convinced of Fagan's social media argument. Yes, American culture prizes early achievement and seemingly life-defining early choices of colleges. And, yes, college athletes and other pressured college students--of whom many are not mature enough in their brain development to truly grasp the long term in favor of the short term--suffer from busy schedules, exhaustion, feelings that quitting shows life-altering weakness, and unhealthy goal/metric fixation. These two factors contributed greatly to Maddy's health. Social media has not been yet determined to be a creator of severe anxiety or depression. Sure, social media could be a contributing factor but how much has not been determined. It could be just as well that those who suffer from depression are more inclined to suffer from creative thinking about other's perfection in real life (friend cliques, classmates, family, etc.) as well as in social media.
Also, Fagan has a matter of relatability here. Yes, Fagan went under many pressures in her life, collegiate and adult, but they are not as acute as Maddy's were. I think adding Fagan's own life as a comparison was a not a good choice. A difficult break up in juxtaposition of months of seemingly bewildering depression that leads one to--in the end--decide that reaching out is not the answer does not help define the experience of depression. We have all had anxiety and breakups. And when one is trying to speak out for special experiences, like Maddy had, and make us understand them, using comparisons that are of the norm do not help us understand how to empathize any closer to expressions of anxiety or depression. Yes, metaphors and analogies are essential to understanding deep things. But isn't the problem concerning mental health that un-depressed people think that their lows are comparable to those who suffer depression? Isn't that the thing to explain away?
These are the only issues I have with the book. It is a tragic heart-rending account. There are many really good insights into this situation that I hope has helped people heal and be more thoughtfully transparent and vulnerable. For we live in a society that prizes made up goals of elitism instead of prizing plain old good living.
This is the 4th and final book I have read for the BookLove Summer Book Club of 2020. What Made Maddy Run is a nonfiction book that explores what may have driven a young college athlete to suicide.
I remember reading Kate Fagan's original article on Madison Holleran "Split Image" in espnW when it originally came out. After reading, I was left with the unsettling feeling that so many questions were unanswered about the loss of a bright, talented young woman. What Made Maddy Run takes the reader more in-depth in the life of Madison and her family and friends. Fagan attempts to reconstruct Maddy's thoughts and feelings from her digital life and interviews with her family and close friends. It is no easy task. Fagan balances her reporting on Maddy with Fagan's personal experiences of being a college athlete years before Maddy. I think Fagan's choice of structure highlights the changed society and culture in which Maddy grew up. The pressures are different in a social media-driven world. Still, do not go into the book expecting answers, expecting a moment that explains it all - there is not.
It is a hard and somber read - but an important one. I think, for me, as a high school educator, I have seen young people like Maddy dealing with anxiety, depression, and crippling perfectionism. I see teens navigating the digital world where everyone's life seems perfect and glossy and filtered. I see students leave high school expecting college to be this magical place of fun and friends and smarts. And, then I see them come home dealing with realities and disappointments. Some can be fixed by a transfer, some cannot. What Made Maddy Run cements for me the need to see and talk with teens (and adults) face-to-face because it is so easy to hide things behind the facade of texting and posting. And, Maddy is a reminder that, even if you do talk face-to-face, there is no guarantee. Unmitigated pressure - wherever it comes from: school, home, sports, peers - is still unmitigated pressure. So, while What Made Maddy Run does not provide answers, it does issue a warning, a cautionary tale to students, parents, friends, and family. What something looks like on the outside or on the Instagram post is not what it is on the inside. Fagan is right - it is a "Split Image."
I remember reading Kate Fagan's original article on Madison Holleran "Split Image" in espnW when it originally came out. After reading, I was left with the unsettling feeling that so many questions were unanswered about the loss of a bright, talented young woman. What Made Maddy Run takes the reader more in-depth in the life of Madison and her family and friends. Fagan attempts to reconstruct Maddy's thoughts and feelings from her digital life and interviews with her family and close friends. It is no easy task. Fagan balances her reporting on Maddy with Fagan's personal experiences of being a college athlete years before Maddy. I think Fagan's choice of structure highlights the changed society and culture in which Maddy grew up. The pressures are different in a social media-driven world. Still, do not go into the book expecting answers, expecting a moment that explains it all - there is not.
It is a hard and somber read - but an important one. I think, for me, as a high school educator, I have seen young people like Maddy dealing with anxiety, depression, and crippling perfectionism. I see teens navigating the digital world where everyone's life seems perfect and glossy and filtered. I see students leave high school expecting college to be this magical place of fun and friends and smarts. And, then I see them come home dealing with realities and disappointments. Some can be fixed by a transfer, some cannot. What Made Maddy Run cements for me the need to see and talk with teens (and adults) face-to-face because it is so easy to hide things behind the facade of texting and posting. And, Maddy is a reminder that, even if you do talk face-to-face, there is no guarantee. Unmitigated pressure - wherever it comes from: school, home, sports, peers - is still unmitigated pressure. So, while What Made Maddy Run does not provide answers, it does issue a warning, a cautionary tale to students, parents, friends, and family. What something looks like on the outside or on the Instagram post is not what it is on the inside. Fagan is right - it is a "Split Image."
Oops I did it again. Finished this one in less than 24 hours because it was just that good (and the text was just that large!)
Sports and mental health have always been a topic that has struck my interest. I don't think there is a large enough discussion on this topic and in our culture of "just do it - don't quit" mental health gets put on the back burner and isn't taken as seriously as it should be. I am thankful the holleran family shared maddy's life with the author, because it allows that conversation to begin and gives us a raw look on how our best face forward, instagram focused culture can be extremely problematic.
Sports and mental health have always been a topic that has struck my interest. I don't think there is a large enough discussion on this topic and in our culture of "just do it - don't quit" mental health gets put on the back burner and isn't taken as seriously as it should be. I am thankful the holleran family shared maddy's life with the author, because it allows that conversation to begin and gives us a raw look on how our best face forward, instagram focused culture can be extremely problematic.