Running Into Yourself: Unlock Your Strength, Heal Your Wounds, and Find New Life Through Running

by Jean-Paul Bedard

The power of running to alleviate our suffering and frailties. Whether you're a novice runner making your way from the couch to your first 5K race, or an elite runner toeing the line at the start of the Olympic marathon, you soon discover that within the beauty of movement, there comes a point where you arrive at a mysterious boundary—the border where one valiantly tries to quiet the mind, while allaying incapacitating doubts and fears. This subtle negotiation, this dance with discomfort, is the birthplace of an inner fortitude, and it demands we keep moving when everything inside us is screaming for us to quit. Bédard explores running's ability to nurture inner resilience and build community, and how it can help us work through the traumas of addiction, depression, or anxiety. This book is a message of strength and hope. In addition to being a featured contributor to the Huffington Post and the writer behind the popular blog Breathe Through This (with over 2 million subscribers), Jean-Paul Bédard is a high profile endurance athlete, and a veteran of over 100 marathons and ultramarathons. A sought-after public speaker, Bédard is known for his ability to infuse humor into his talks as he speaks candidly about addiction, depression, and childhood trauma.

288 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 2016

Reviews

[Matt B. Perkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books on running I've ever read (and I've read several). Completely raw and coming from a place of purity and sincerity, this comprises some of the best writing and series of stories from runners on the spiritual and soul-filled value of running, not necessarily as a means of escape or running away from something, but, as the title aptly suggests, running toward/into yourself. Few books have inspired me to lace up and get back on the road on a refreshed routine.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly real for anyone who's experienced injury or illness that sidelined them from the serenity and joy they found in running, and how they found strength and purpose in the recovery and comeback.

[Daniolco Lerio · Rating 5 out of 5]

And because of this i joined a running tribe.

[Mjblois · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5