Running For My Life
'An amazing story of one woman's journey through mental illness... So inspiring and proving once again that exercise changes lives' Mel Sykes
Suffering from depression but desperate for 'normality', Rachel Cullen found herself in failing relationships, the wrong career and a reliance on alcohol and chocolate to get her through each day. Stuck in an endless cycle of mental misery, she put on a pair of old trainers.
She'd never been able to think of herself as a 'runner' before, and the first time she forced herself out the door, she knew it would hurt. Everywhere. She just didn't realise how much it would heal her, too.
Interspersed with Rachel's real diary entries, from teenage non-runner to London Marathon finisher (just months after giving birth), she questions if she really can outrun her demons.
Rachel Cullen is a writer, blogger, author and runner. She is also a reformed ex-commercial litigation solicitor. Amongst other things, she has abseiled off Table Mountain, jumped out of a plane at 11,000ft, climbed Mount Fuji, worked on a game reserve in South Africa, qualified as a scuba diver and ridden an ostrich. This is her first book, detailing her very personal journey from bipolar non-runner to medal-winning marathon runner - and how she discovered happiness along the way.
Follow Rachel on Twitter @writtenbyrach and read her blog at rachelcullenwrites.co.uk - she would love to hear from you.