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A review by lynnedf
The Long Run: A Memoir of Loss and Life in Motion by Catriona Menzies-Pike
2.0
Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.
I requested this book from Netgalley because I was looking for a memoir that focused on a woman turning to running when dealing with grief, thereby finding herself. I was expecting a memoir that was big on personal story and much less of an essay on the history of gender in running. But this memoir was big on essay and short on personal story - which although was still interesting, certainly didn't suck me in as I had hoped it would.
While Catriona obviously researched women in running - everything they have had to overcome, are still overcoming, and highlighted moments in history most of us don't know - she didn't open up to her readers the way one usually does in a memoir. Rather than feel like I know her better, or understand what even brought her to start running (marathon running at that!), I feel like I have a better appreciation for the history of running, and a much greater knowledge of the modern Olympic Games.
Catriona really glossed over anything that involved feelings and her past and jumped right into running, reminding us that all her friends and family couldn't believe that she had become a runner ... something that perhaps I would have also felt had she opened up about her journey in her 20s.
The best way I can articulate my feelings about this book was that I was expecting a memoir and got more of a dissertation paper. It certainly got better the more I read (and by better I mean that she let the reader in a little more), but it isn't something I think I will go back to for inspiration to get back on the long distance running road, nor a book I'll refer to when dealing with grief or bereavement.
2.5 star read.
I requested this book from Netgalley because I was looking for a memoir that focused on a woman turning to running when dealing with grief, thereby finding herself. I was expecting a memoir that was big on personal story and much less of an essay on the history of gender in running. But this memoir was big on essay and short on personal story - which although was still interesting, certainly didn't suck me in as I had hoped it would.
While Catriona obviously researched women in running - everything they have had to overcome, are still overcoming, and highlighted moments in history most of us don't know - she didn't open up to her readers the way one usually does in a memoir. Rather than feel like I know her better, or understand what even brought her to start running (marathon running at that!), I feel like I have a better appreciation for the history of running, and a much greater knowledge of the modern Olympic Games.
Catriona really glossed over anything that involved feelings and her past and jumped right into running, reminding us that all her friends and family couldn't believe that she had become a runner ... something that perhaps I would have also felt had she opened up about her journey in her 20s.
The best way I can articulate my feelings about this book was that I was expecting a memoir and got more of a dissertation paper. It certainly got better the more I read (and by better I mean that she let the reader in a little more), but it isn't something I think I will go back to for inspiration to get back on the long distance running road, nor a book I'll refer to when dealing with grief or bereavement.
2.5 star read.