Running for My Life

By Ann González

Running for My Life is the powerful story of Andrea McKane, a fourteen-year-old who struggles to cope with her mother's schizophrenia. She must face the heartbreaking fact that her mother, with whom... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1934813001
• ISBN13: 9781934813003
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: Westside Book
• Length: 237 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 1.0" x 5.5"
• Age Range: 12 to 15 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 10

Customer Reviews

A Mom's Review

Running for My Life is a beautiful and hopeful story. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recomended it to my daughter. She read it and loved it. As a mom I'm so grateful for books that I can share and discuss with my kids. This one gave me the chance to talk to my daughter about mental illness--whether what happened to Andrea was her mother's fault and what mental illness does to a person and to the people around them. My daughter said she was so glad that she read the book. She also said that anyone who doesn't cry over this book is a "heartless stone." :) I love that the story is real to the point of being painful, but also so hopeful. Andrea has been through something truly horrible, but she's working through it with the support of her dad, her best friend, and a counselor. The story shows that even when life hands us something bad, we can still be okay. I love that message for teenagers--really for anyone. This book is a compelling read from start to finish.

A Compelling and Heart-felt Story

Teen readers everywhere will love Running for My Life. Ann Gonzales has created a memorable character in 14-year-old Andrea-a true survivor in the best sense of the word. She's plucky yes, but more than that, we feel her pain as we discover the horrifying circumstances surrounding her mother's schizophrenia. What makes this such a special book are both Andrea's growth throughout the story, as well as the loving cast of characters surrounding her. Her dad and best friend Margie, in particular, are stand outs, and define what it means to be human. I highly recommend Running for My Life. It's well written and reads at a perfect pace so that you won't be able to put it down.

Learning to run

One of the reasons teens read is to see the other side of someone else's hard time, to know that there's a way out, even when something seems impossible. But just because a book is about a heavy subject doesn't mean it has to be a heavy book. Often when a novel talks about hard times, the character is completely alone and helpless. Andrea McKane has good friends, a great dad, a talking bunny and running. Running For My Life is funny, gentle and compassionate, the kind of book that, like Pedro the bunny, really can make it all better. Yet it's not all fluff. Gonzalez interweaves psychology lessons and learning to spit, therapy and track team, panic attacks and Pedro the cheerleader. Running For My Life gives the reader courage, strength and freedom, and teaches her that anyone can learn to run.

A Story of Coping and Understanding

In Running for My Life, Ann Gonzalez presents a story of coping and eventual understanding within a family in crisis. The book is sure to resonate with teens that will identify with the book's engaging protagonist and her friends, but the issues explored are important enough to matter to many more readers.The story is narrated by Andrea McKane, a fourteen-year-old guilty of nothing more than being scared and bewildered when facing the reality of her mother's recurring mental illness. How Andrea copes--or doesn't--offers a glimpse into a world that is both moving and disturbing. Gonzalez captures these intense emotions and feelings honestly. The unfolding of Andrea's story--as she reveals her fear that she, too, will someday be "sick" like her mother--emerges slowly. Gonzalez's use of running as both a literal and figurative metaphor to bracket Andrea's stop-and-go journey as she confronts the reality of her mother's illness and navigates her own healing, is brilliant. In an subtle way, the book offers a great model for teens of a way to alleviate stress by embracing the euphoric high that physical activity offers as an alternative to less positive ways of coping.

Compassion, Realism, Poignancy

Teens will eagerly turn the pages of "Running for My Life" to keep pace with Andrea as she navigates her world, turned upside-down by her mother's mental illness. The book shows the stark realism of living with a parent who can't care for her child, and gives a hopeful example of how to make it through. Too often this type of book for teens is treacly; there is none of that in "Running for My Life." Instead, a cooly humorous outlook, the keen empathy of her friends, the physical act of running and its deep symbolism help Andrea cope, even when her life seems utterly bleak. I wish "Running for My Life" had been around a long time ago. I'm certainly glad it's here now for any teen who feels abandoned and helpless due to a terrible home situation, and who needs to know how to emerge whole, heading toward life with enthusiasm and joy.