'Women's sports have needed a manifesto for a long time. With Good for a Girl we finally have one' Malcolm Gladwell
'The invitation to have a long overdue conversation for a long overdue cultural shift' Alysia Montano, Olympian, co-founder of &Mother, and author of Feel-Good Fitness
'This is the book we've been waiting for' Kate Fagan, author of What Made Maddy Run
Lauren Fleshman has grown up in the world of running. One of the most decorated collegiate athletes of all time and a national champion as a pro, she was a major face of women's running for Nike before leaving to shake up the industry with feminist running brand Oiselle and coach elite young female runners. Every step of the way, she has seen how our sports systems - originally designed by men, for men and boys - fail young women and girls as much as empower them. Girls drop out of sports at alarming rates once they hit puberty, and female collegiate athletes routinely fall victim to injury, eating disorders or mental health struggles as they try to force their way past a natural dip in performance for women of their age.
Part memoir, part manifesto, Good for a Girl is Fleshman's story of falling in love with running as a girl, battling devastating injuries and self-doubt, and daring to fight for a better way for female athletes. Long gone are the days when women and girls felt lucky just to participate; Fleshman and women everywhere are waking up to the reality that they're running, playing and competing in a world that wasn't made for them. Drawing not only on her own story but also on emerging research on the physiology and psychology of young athletes of any gender, Fleshman gives voice to the often-silent experience of the female athlete and argues that the time has come to rebuild our systems of competitive sport with women at their centre.
Written with heart and verve, Good for a Girl is a joyful love letter to the running life, a raw personal narrative of growth and change, and a vital call to reimagine sports for young women.
Title: Good for a Girl: My Life Running in a Man's World
Author: Fleshman, Lauren
ISBN: 9780349014425
Binding:
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Publication Date: 2023-01-10
Number of Pages: 288
Weight: 0.5101 kg
I tore through Lauren Fleshman's Good for a Girl. This is the book we've been waiting for: a coming-of-age story, told from inside our broken sports system-a system that was not built for the young athletes inside it, and certainly not for young women. Lauren's story is clear-eyed, passionate, nuanced, and unflinching; it will change the way you look at sports -- Kate Fagan, author of What Made Maddy Run
This book breaks open the door for caged conversations to protect the health and integrity of growing athletes. It not only needs to be in the hands of women-identifying athletes, but also their peers, coaches, and parents. It is the invitation to have a long overdue conversation for a long overdue cultural shift -- Alysia Montano, Olympian, co-founder of &Mother, and author of Feel-Good Fitness
Women's sports have needed a manifesto for a very long time, and with Lauren Fleshman's Good for a Girl we finally have one -- Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers and David and Goliath
Good for a Girl is much more than a great running memoir. It's a remarkably candid tale of self-doubt and self-belief; of entrepreneurship, family, money, competition, and-importantly-female physiology. (Turns out women are not just smaller men!) It's an important book that also happens to be a page-turner -- David Epstein, bestselling author of Range and The Sports Gene
If someone held a gun to my head and said 'Run,' I'd say, 'Nah, just shoot me.' And yet I could not put down Lauren Fleshman's thoughtful, elegant memoir: a necessary look at what women endure and deserve from the sports they devote their lives to -- Ariel Levy, author of The Rules Do Not Apply
Good for a Girl is simultaneously a moving memoir and a call to action in how we think about-and train-girls and women in elite sports. It's a must-read-for anyone who loves running, for anyone who has a daughter, and for anyone who cares about creating a better future for young women -- Emily Oster, author of Expecting Better, Cribsheet, and The Family Firm
Lauren Fleshman's Good for a Girl is a lyrical, insightful, and timely meditation on women's sports, women's bodies, and the fundamental issues of social justice exposed and unsolved in the world of elite athletics. As someone who finds no joy in movement, I was moved and riveted from start to finish. A must-read for anybody -- Kate Manne, author of Down Girl and Entitled
Lauren Fleshman serves as a guide to two worlds unknown to most of us: elite athletics, but also, and more importantly, the unjust system that gifts men with riches and fame but crushes the hopes and bodies of women. She is both a champion and a survivor, and anyone who cares about running, athletics, or women must listen to her -- Peter Sagal, host of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me! and author of The Incomplete Book of Running
Good for a Girl is simultaneously a moving memoir and a call to action in how we think about-and train-girls and women in elite sports. It's a must-read-for anyone who loves running, for anyone who has a daughter, and for anyone who cares about creating a better future for young women -- Emily Oster, author of Expecting Better, Cribsheet, and The Family Firm