Continuing the book journey, I would like to share the (running related) book I most recently finished. This is an intense auto-biography of Hillary Allen (aka Hillygoat). She is a world class sky racer who got into an accident while racing in Norway, causing her to tumble down a 150ft cliff.
I highly recommend the audio book as she is the one reading it. It does make some of the chapters quite intense as she relives through the experience and emotions though. I also loved the narration in the episode of the DNF podcast, The Crack Up, by the incredible Zoe Rom.
The beginning of the book has her relive through her fall and definitely got me to tense up (definitely an abs workout!). Then, she takes a step back in the book and describes how she got into sky racing and her quick ascent to international competition.
Most of the book focuses on her recovery and the physical and mental roller coaster. Even without having gone through such a terrible accident and without competing at the international level, a lot of aspects resonated with me, and I assume with any athlete who has ever been injured: the impatience, the need to be vulnerable, the acceptance to have others help, the apprehension of taking a first running step, the set-backs, the desire to be “back”.
Throughout her journey, she teaches us resilience, acceptance, courage and strength to go through all these challenges and rebuild herself, not to be back but to grow. Her deciding to go back to Norway and fight her fears is a very telling story of her process of healing, not just physically but also mentally.
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