Life Is a Marathon: A Memoir of Love and Endurance

Endurance sports writer and nutritionist Fitzgerald (How Bad Do You Want It? Mastering the Psychology of Mind over Muscle)shares a personal story of how training and running marathons saved his life. Through several decades of doing marathons, the author has atoned for what he regards as his "cowardice" in intentionally missing the start of a decades-ago important high school race. In seeking to complete eight marathons in eight weeks, Fitzgerald tells how preparing for these events equipped him with the stamina, courage, tolerance, and resilience necessary to run the race as well as live a complete life. Intertwined in his story is that of his wife, who lives with bipolar disorder. Fitzgerald is honest about the difficulties of mental illness, how it has impacted both their lives, and how running has helped him process painful moments. This journey of self-discovery also leads him to meet other runners across the United States and share their accounts.