Happy Hump Day, friends! I just finished reading a great book and I wanted to share with you. I actually missed last month’s blogger book club because I was reading too slow… I’m hoping to get back into it for May because I love our blogger book club but we’ll see.
Anyways — the book I just finished reading is called Finish Line Feeling by Liz Ferro. You may have heard of her, or the book, actually. She’s the founder of a phenomenal organization called Girls With Sole. Girls With Sole focuses on positively influencing at-risk girls and has been nationally recognized by Runner’s World Magazine, The Today Show, and Yahoo! among others. Finish Line Feeling is part of the Girls With Sole curriculum for girls 13 years old and older.
I received Finish Line Feeling from Liz to read and review, and was pleasantly surprised. I was a bit hesitant to enjoy it knowing it was part of the curriculum (i.e. I was expecting it to read like a text book) but it turned out to be a detailed narrative of Liz’s life.
The way the book read was like having a deep conversation with an older relative. The stories she tells in the book, and the way she tells them, reminds me of learning nitty gritty details of stories from the “grown-ups” in my life — stories from my aunt, or my dad, who as a kid, used to be closed books. But now as an adult, I’m finally old enough to hear the truth about many stories. Liz made me feel like she was a relative of mine, divulging what her life was like before I was big enough to hear the stories when I was a child.
I think there’s something powerful in the way an adult can open up and be completely candid with a younger generation, and Liz does just that. Sharing her story with her 13 year old Girls With Sole girls is important as it validates their stories and their opinions & emotions as young ladies.
What I enjoyed most about her book was the way she said things almost exactly how I think them. There was more than one occasion when I literally laughed out loud. Sometimes I would read a passage to my husband who was reading in bed beside me, and other times I would take a picture of the text and send it to my running buddies.
One of my favorite passages:
Having good friends to train with, and to go to the races with, makes the whole experience so much more enjoyable! It’s not only a great way to bond, but being silly with your buddies, or even complaining to them about the race the night before you do it, is a great way to blow off nervous energy. It always makes me feel better to do some halfhearted bitching the night before the race about the mileage, or why the hell we are even doing this, we must be crazy… that type of stuff.
There are several others that top the list but I don’t want to spoil it for you. One may or may not involve the Signing of the Constitution.
Finish Line Feeling is a raw narrative — sometimes sad, sometimes uplifting. It’s an easy read. And each sale of Finish Line Feeling directly benefits Girls With Sole. If that’s not the best reason to read this book, I’m not sure what is. And if you’re a runner, or a parent, or a swimmer or cyclist, I highly recommend picking up a copy if nothing more than to enjoy a book by a fellow athlete.
If you’re interested in purchasing a copy of your own, click here to be taken to Amazon. Please note: I do not make any money on the sale of this book, and I receive no kick backs. I just get to facilitate the sharing of Liz’s story and the Girls With Sole mission.
Have a great day!
xo
What’s a book you’ve recently read?
Do you enjoy reading fiction or non-fiction?
