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This was a heartbreaking and eye-opening story of a "typical" American student-athlete who seems to have it all. Yet she struggles mightily with the transition from happy high school student to college student. All the life lessons she learned in athletics failed her - tough it out, work through the pain, you can be anything you want if you put your mind to it. She struggled and didn't want to let anyone down by admitting her fears and feelings. Even when she did try to voice her unhappiness she couldn't quite admit how overwhelming it was to those who could help her.
This book gave great insight on how these "digital natives" process the world around them and how they communicate. It also shed a lot of light on how common these struggles are for today's college students. They go from being the "It kid" in high school to just like everyone else in college. College is so competitive (and expensive) today and is set as such a high goal for these kids. That's a lot of pressure.
I would have given this book 5 stars but I didn't enjoy how the author injected herself and her own life into alternating chapters. Honestly, that story, while relevant, could have been part of the author's notes or a reader's guide. But too often the narrative stopped to be more about Kate than Maddy.
I did enjoy the subchapters that referenced mental health professionals, college students and other experts who helped add nuance and details to what Maddy (and other kids) must have felt like and how helpless and hopeless she felt. I also thought based on the interview with Dese'Rae Stage, the photographer who shared insight to Kate as a suicide surivor, that there would be more focus on the after. What happens to the friends and family who have to live with the questions longer than just in the immediate aftermath? How do they makes sense of this?
Maddy's story will stay with me for a long time. It also gave me perspective on what cenntenials could be facing as they transition to college.
This book gave great insight on how these "digital natives" process the world around them and how they communicate. It also shed a lot of light on how common these struggles are for today's college students. They go from being the "It kid" in high school to just like everyone else in college. College is so competitive (and expensive) today and is set as such a high goal for these kids. That's a lot of pressure.
I would have given this book 5 stars but I didn't enjoy how the author injected herself and her own life into alternating chapters. Honestly, that story, while relevant, could have been part of the author's notes or a reader's guide. But too often the narrative stopped to be more about Kate than Maddy.
I did enjoy the subchapters that referenced mental health professionals, college students and other experts who helped add nuance and details to what Maddy (and other kids) must have felt like and how helpless and hopeless she felt. I also thought based on the interview with Dese'Rae Stage, the photographer who shared insight to Kate as a suicide surivor, that there would be more focus on the after. What happens to the friends and family who have to live with the questions longer than just in the immediate aftermath? How do they makes sense of this?
Maddy's story will stay with me for a long time. It also gave me perspective on what cenntenials could be facing as they transition to college.