Just before Christmas, I was contacted to see if I was interested to read a book called Marathon Mum that was due to be released on World Book Day 2021. After reading the title and briefly what the book was about, there was no way I would say NO to that opportunity and couldn’t wait!
A few days before the release day I was sent a copy of the Marathon Mum by Rachel Brown (with Warren FitzGerald). It was when both my daughters were still homeschooled, but when I found the time to start reading, I could not put it down.
I was drawn into the story and could associate it with so many things Rachel was describing in this super inspirational book. There were quite a few moments when tears were rolling down my cheeks. I could not believe all the struggles Rachel went through.
“It’s the finish line, not the finish time.”
But you know what, after reading this book, I can tell you one thing. Rachel is a great fighter and showed me and anyone reading this book if we put our mind to something we can achieve it. Despite many sad moments, there were also moments that made me laugh and I finished the book in 2 days. That for me is a record!!!
I absolutely loved it, and highly recommend it.
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In the late 80s, Rachel was having a boss time travelling the world as a professional dancer. Fast forward several years and she’s married, with the kids she’s always dreamed of, but the body she’s always dreaded. To make things worse, her husband Trevor begins to show his true controlling colours and Rachel blames herself, spiralling into depression. Until she discovers running.
Buzzing from her epiphany, the ‘Forrest Gump of the Mersey’ is derided by Trevor, but catches the attention of some local women, all struggling and vulnerable in their own ways. Spurred on by them, Rachel starts Mums to Marathons, a running club to inspire others who might not have the confidence to run. In this burgeoning sisterhood, these disparate women soon discover more than the mere chance to shed a few pounds.
Dealing with the dark and many faces of depression and mental health with a refreshing lightness of touch unique to this working-class woman from the Wirral, Marathon Mum is an uplifting story of the healing to be found in community, and the corners we can turn when we push ourselves across the line.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Rachel Brown founded Mums to Marathons (M2Ms) in 2013. Now, they are an inspiring community of more than 800 runners who have raised over £500,000 for local and national charities. As well as running in 10km races, half-marathons and marathons, M2Ms have trekked the Sahara, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and cycled from Vietnam to Cambodia.
Born in Bromborough, Rachel grew up in Spital, Bebington on the Wirral Peninsula. Blessed with a happy childhood and close family, she attended Stanton Road Primary School and Bebington Secondary School For Girls before becoming a professional dancer, working with dance troupes all over the world for seven years. Rachel now lives back in Bromborough with her three children Sam, Ben and Harriet. She is happily partnered to playwright and composer Brian McCann.
Warren FitzGerald is an author and screenwriter. His debut novel The Go-Away Bird won an Amazon Rising Stars Award, was longlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award and was Waterstones’ Book of the Month in October 2011. His first non-fiction book All in the Same Boat (published in 2016), has been optioned for the screen with Warren himself co-writing the screenplay adaptation. Breaking Dad (a memoir written in collaboration with the subject James Lubbock) was published in 2019. It too has been optioned for the screen.
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