Bravey by Alexi Pappas

The Olympic runner actress filmmaker and writer Alexi Pappas shares what shersquos learned about confidence selfreliance mental health embracing pain and achieving your dreamsNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BYnbspREAL SIMPLE bullnbspldquoHeartbreaking and hilariousrdquomdashMindy Kaling bull ldquoA beautiful readrdquomdashRuth Reichl bull ldquoEssential guidance to anyone dreaming big dreamsrdquomdashShalane Flanagannbspbull ldquoI couldnrsquot put it downrdquomdashAdam Grantrun like a braveysleep like a babydream like a crazyreplace canrsquot with maybeWhen ldquoRenaissance runnerrdquo New York Times Alexi PappasmdashOlympic athlete actress filmmaker and writermdashwas four years old her mother died by suicide drastically altering the course of Pappasrsquos life and setting her on a search for female role models When her father signed his bereaved daughter up for sports teams as a way to keep her busy female athletes became the first women Pappas looked up to and her Olympic dream was born At the same time Pappas had big creative dreams too She wanted to make movies write and act Despite setbacks and hardships Pappas refused to pick just one lane She put in a tremendous amount of hard work and wouldnrsquot let anything stand in her way until she achieved all of her dreams however unrelated they may seem to outsiders In a single year 2016 she made her Olympic debut as a distance runner and wrote directed and starred in her first feature filmnbspBut great highs are often accompanied by deep lows with joy comes sorrow InnbspBravey Pappas fearlessly and honestly shares her battle with postOlympic depression and describes how she emerged on the other side as a thriving and selfactualized woman Unflinching exuberant and always entertainingnbspBraveynbspshowcases Pappasrsquosnbspsignature charming voice as she reflects upon the touchstone moments in her life and the lessons that have powered her career as both an athlete and an artistmdashforemost among them how to be bravenbspPappasrsquos experiences reveal how we can all overcome hardship befriend pain celebrate victory relish the loyalty found in teammates and claim joy In short how every one of us can become a bravey